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THE 

GREEK EXI1.-E.^ 

A NARRATIVE / C;' /^^^ 

OF THE \ ■'■^^ ^ 




CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE 

OF 

CHRISTOPHORUS PLATO CASTANIS, 

DURING THE 

MASSACRE ON THE ISLAND OF SCIO, 
BY THE TURKS, 

' TOGETHER WITH VARIOUS ADVENTURES IN 

GREECE AND AMERICA. 

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 

Author of an Essay on the ancient and modprn Greek languages ; Interpretations 

of the attributes of the Principal Fabulous deities. The Jewish 

Maiden of Scio's Citadel ; and the Greek Boy in the 

Sunday School. 



PHILADELPHIA : 

L I P P I N C O T T, G R A M B O, & C O 

Successors to Grigg & Elliot. 

No. 14 North Fourth Street. 

1851. 



.i* r T' 






^ 



Entered according- to the Act of Congress, in the year 1650, by 
CHRISTOPHORUS PLATO CASTANIS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. 



DEDICATED 



LADIES OF AMERICA, 

Who, hastening to the relief of a nation, which had been abandoned 
by the world to the unexampled cruelty of the followers of Maho- 
met, contributed, with disinterested emotions of Christian philan- 
thropy, and rescued, frona suffering and destitution, the persecuted 
daughters of Greece ! 

ACCEPT THIS WORK, 

As a token of the love and gratitude of the Matrons and Maidens* 
who, through yourselves, have taught the heart of Greece to beat iu 
response to the heart of Columbia. 

With gratitude and respect 

xriSTo^oros n. kastanhs. 

xios. 



CONTENTS. 



Introductory Remarks, 9. 

CHAPTER I.— The Author's Birth-place, 11 ; Origin and names of 
Scio ; Orion ; Settlement of Chius ; productions of Scio, 12 ; Ariu- 
sian wine famous in Rome ; its petrifying effect; Julius Csesar ; 
Hortensius ; Sultana Valide; Distinguished Cliians ; Homer a 
Scian; scenery, 13; public edifices, 14. 

CHAP. II. — The old Castle; our residence, 16 ; Homer's school; 
Glyphada; Mt. Epos and Palin£eurn, 17 ; wealth of Romana; 
University of Scio, 18 ; schoolmaster ; mode of chastisement ; Garu- 
falia, 19; antiquities of Scio ; Demetriadcs, author's teacher, 20 ; 
the Panhellenion; ancient magnificence of Scio, 21 ; Bolissos j 
Rhapsodists ; Coray, 22 . 

CHAP. II L— The Greek revolution, 23 ; Cliian hostages, 24; Earth- 
quakes, hail and fiery meteors, 25 ; the Samian Invasion, 26 ; Bur- 
nias ; skirmishes, 27; arrival of the Turkish fleet; the bombard- 
ment, 28 ; strength of the fleet; exact gunnery, 29; exploit of 
Brontadusians ; romantic escape, 30; flight of Samians ; Turks 
rushinor from tombs, 31. 

CHAP. IV. — The Museum and author's captivity, 32; Burning of a 
church by plunderers, 34; excursion for spoil and heads, 35 ; divi- 
sion of the spoil, 38 ; execution of the captives, 40 ; bounty for 
heads f pickled ears, 41. 

CHAP. V. — The Author soU^ horrors of servitude, 44 ; Jews, Ar- 
menians and Fra nks e a^clicd. 46 ; the author ridden as a horse ; 
anecdotes, Hi? jir^^=^nscientious Turkish girl, 49; interior of a 
Turkish dwelling, 50 ; Turkish hospitality waning, 51 ; the mas- 
sacre at Meloena Promontory, 52 ; Turkish lady, 54 ; Dervishes 
and Turkish school, 5S ; Greek hunt, 60 ; the Consuls tools of 
Turkish treachery, 62. 



VI . CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI.— The pestilence, 71 ; warlike rage of animals during 
the pestilence, 75 ; vengeance of Canaris ; burning of Turkish 
flag-ship, 80; burning of twenty-four MasticTovvns, the Sultana's 
appanage, 83 ; Scio after the catastrophe, 85. 

CHAP. VII.— Flight from Scio, 92. 

CHAP. VIII. — Voyage to Nauplion and meeting with American re- 
lief agents, 100 ; American Supplies, 106. 

CHAP. IX.— Voyage to America, 119. 

CHAP. X.— Arrival in New York, 131 ; arrival in Boston, 135. 

CHAP. XI. — Return to Greece, 137; the opinion that Ulysses wan- 
dered not over the Mediterranean, but through the Black Sea and 
the sea of Azoph, 139 ; the author's search for his mother, 152 ; 
hears of his mother, 156 ; the author meets mother, 160 ; Assassi- 
nation of the President, 162. 

CHAP. XII. — Arrival of king Otho at Athens, 165 ; the Bavarians 
and the Greeks, 169 ; Arrival at Athens, 174. 

CHAP. XIII. — Second visit to America, 177 ; second visit to Bos- 
ton, 186. 

CHAP. XIV.— Tour through the United Slates, 192 ; third visit to 
Washington, 202 ; visit to Mt. Vernon, 207. 

CHAP. XV. — Education in America, 211 ; the Greek language, 213. 

CHAP. XVI.— Wide diffusion of the Greek race, 222 ; index, 230; 
Essay on the Greek pronunciation, 232 ; new alphabet for the 
English language, 259 ; specimens of the modern Greek with 
interlinear translations, 264 ; Music of the Greek War Song, &c. 



"2^22EEffifc^ 



EECOMMENDATIONS: 



From J, H. Hill, Missionary of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, at Athens, Greece, 

New York, 25th June, 1841. 

My dear Mr. Castanis : — It has afforded ine the greatest pleasure 
to have had an opportunity of renewing in this country the acquaint- 
ance which commenced between us more than nine years ago in 
Athens ; and I am really rejoiced to find that you have been so usefully 
and honourably employed during your residence here. I have no 
doubt that" your public lectures on the condition and character of 
-your countrymen, and the prospects of that interesting portion of the 
world, will contribute very much to keep alive the strong sympathy 
which the sad events of the Greek Revolution so powerfully excited 
in the minds of my fellow countrymen. From my long residence in 
Greece and the peculiar position I hold there, no one can take a 
deeper interest than I do in her welfare and in the success of every 
effort that may be made for her advancement in religion, morals and 
Christianity. I hope therefore you will continue your efforts in the 
line you have chosen with the same zeal you have hitherto mani- 
fested, and with increasing success. 

I cheerfully bear testimony to your excellent character. I can add 
nothing to the testimonial of the truly venerable and revered ec- 
clesiastic. Professor Bambas. His name alone, wherever it is known, 
is a sufBcient guaranty for all that he asserts, and the document 
which he has given you is all that one could wish. 

I shall have great pleasure on my return to Athens, in communi- 
eating to your brother and your other friends how well you are here 
employing your time and the respect in which you are held. 

For the information of all whom it may concern I will add that 
Christopher P. Castanis is well known to me as a native of Solo. He 



Vlll RECOMMENDATIONS. 

was once, for a short time, under my instruction in one of the mission- 
ary schools in Athens. His brother, family and friends are very re- 
spectable and are all well known to me. 



From Ex-Governor Everett, oj Massachusetts^ late Minis- 
ter to England. 

My personal acquaintance with Mr. Chrislophorus Plato Castanis, 
of the Island of Scio, with the favourable testimonies of Prof Felton, 
President Quincy, Dr. Palfrey and Hon. John Pickering, gentlemen 
whose opinions are entitled to the highest respect, lead me to unite 
with them in believing him well qualified as an instructor and lee- 
turcr in the ancient and modern languages and literature of his 
country. I recommend him therefore to the confidence and counte- 
nance of the friends of Greece. 



INTEODUCTORY REMARKS, 



Orators, poets and travellers have written on the suffer- 
ings of Scio from Turkish injustice, but of all the eye- 
witnesses of these terrific scenes, not one except the pre- 
sent author, has ever published a minute account of all the 
events from the beginning to the end of the great massacre. 

The pressing demand for a second edition of the "Greek 
Captive," has aroused him to a task still greater ; it is the 
present work of which the other is only a very small portion. 

This work contains a biography of the author, leading 
events of the Greek Revolution, the great massacre on his 
native island, voyages, adventures, anecdotes, description 
of Greek and Turkish life, scenery, manners, customs, re- 
ligion, language, superstitions, traditions, and classic asso- 
ciations ; the American relief agents and missionaries in 
Greece; arrival at Boston on the second visit to America. 

The author not only exposes the fanatical fury of the fol- 
lowers of the prophet of Mecca, in shedding the blood of 
their enemies, but also the inhuman avarice of certain Jews 
and Christians, who cast themselves amid the inhuman 
scenes of merciless carnage, and speculated upon the blood 
and tears of the Greeks. 

To gratify the Literati, remarks are made in regard to the 
ancient and modern pronunciation of the Greek language, 
in the Index, together with a specimen of the modern dia- 
lect, from the celebrated living Greek philosopher, Bambas, 
and a famous Greek war-song with interlinear translations. 
2 



THE 

GREEK EXILE, 



CHAPTER I. 

THE author's birth-place. 

That monument of woe, the isle of Scio, is situated near 
the Eastern shore of the Grecian Archipelago. It looks 
on the beautiful island of Mitylene, the birth-place of Sap- 
pho, towards the north, and on that of Samos, the home 
of Pythagoras, towards the south. It stands opposite the 
Seven Churches of Asia. It still bears its ancient name, 
Xiog, Chios, in Italian, Scio, and in English, either Scio or 
Chius. It was called by the ancients, Chios, as some say 
from Chiona, a celebrated princess, who came with those 
who colonized the place ; others say from chion, snow, 
because being first settled in winter, it took the name from 
the snow which covered its mountain ridge. Among its 
other titles, it had that of Pityussa, from the great num- 
ber of Pine-trees growing there, a circumstance regarded 
by the agriculturist, as exceedingly favourable to the grape, 
and contributing a superior quality to the wines of the is- 
land, which were so famous among the ancient Greeks and 
Romans. 

The epithet ofophiussa,se/-^e?2^7iaw72^ecf, belongs only to its 
earliest settlement, for now it is almost free from vepomous 



12 

reptiles. It was oflen termed Long Island, in Greek, Mao- 
ris. Here sprung Orion, whose form is fancied now to be 
in one of the constellations. Here exists a cave where dwelt 
a serpent whose hiss could be heard from one end of the 
island to the other, and whose throat was capacious enough 
for swallowing entire ships, as tradition says. The city 
of Chios lies on the Eastern side of the island. It is fifty- 
three miles west of Smyrna, and at 38° 22' 30" north 
latitude, and 26° 8" east longitude from Greenwich. 
The island is thirty-two miles long from north to south, 
and about eighteen broad. It has many mountains and 
plains, and gentle slopes, with fine springs and rivulets. 
Dr. Clark says it is the " Paradise of modern Greece." 
Tournefort, andStephens the American traveller, use equal- 
ly strong terms in its praise. It is more productive than 
any other island, and yields to none in mental and physical 
glory. 

The era of its first settlement by civilized races, dates 
back to about the year 1105 before Christ. It has ever 
since that epoch, a period of nearly three thousand years, 
been cultivated by Greeks, who have laboured with the 
greatest care and assiduity. It is an island of great interest 
to the agriculturist from the geniality of its climate to the 
lentisk tree, which there reaches a perfection beyond that 
which grows in India. 

Though the soil of Scio is naturally rocky, it was ren- 
dered highly fertile by the labour of the Greek cultivators. 
The Sciote Gardeners were famous in Europe and Asia* 
Plants were taken from the island and carried to distant 
countries. Its staples were silk, mastic, figs, lemons, oran- 
ges, wine, oil, cotton, almonds, &c. It contains abundance 
of marble, jasper, and a kind of green earth resembling 
verdigris. 



THE author's birth-place. 13 

The district of Ariusia was as famous in ancient times, 
as the country of Champagne now is for its wine. Virgil 
lauds it (Eel. V. lin. 72), and Horace asks 

" Quo Chium prclio cadum 
Mercemur ?" 

The price of Chian wine in the days of Socrates, was 
twenty times that of Attica. The poets said that it petrified 
those who drank too freely. 

Pliny asserts that Chian wine was served up by Julius 
Caesar at his most splendid entertainments ; and it is thought 
worthy of notice, that Hortensius left a very large stock of 
this famous beverage to his heir, a sort of legacy not un- 
common in our limes. In modern times, Scio has enjoyed 
a world-renowned fame for the cultivation of the gum mas- 
tic, in which there were twenty-four of its villages engaged. 
The inhabitants of these villages, were said to be subjects 
of the Sultana Valide, (Mother Sultaness), who received from 
them a tribute only in this article. The rest of the island 
paid a capitation tax, called kharatch. 

.• Scio gave birth to man}?- distinguished men ; in antiquity, 
to Ion, the tragic poet, Theopompus the historian, Ariston, 
Theocritus the sophist, and Metrodorus, the physician and 
philosopher : and in modern times to Coray the philologist ; 
Bambas the philosopher, Bardalachos, and Alexander Maur- 
ocordatos, a Sultan's Interpreter. Chios aspires also to 
the honour of giving birth to the father of poetry, of whom 
Velleius Paterculus said, " quod neque ante ilium, quem ille 
imitaretur ; neque post ilium, qui eum imitari posset, inven- 
tus est," (that there was found neither any one before him 
whom he might imitate, nor any after him, able to imitate 
him.) 

This island was once famous for its naval power. It 
was for some time mistress of the seas. Its inhabitants 
took a prominent part in the revolt of the Ionian cities 



14 THE author's birth-place. 

against Persia. Its capital was one of the Ionian confede- 
rate cities that contributed to the building of the temple of 
Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the world. Mitford 
says of its inhabitants, " Moderate in prosperity, blameless 
towards their neighbours, and using their increasing wealth 
and power for no purpose of ambition, but directing their 
politics merely to secure the happiness they enjoyed," the 
Chians were among the most respectable of the Greek 
states. 

Sailing through the straits of Scio, the eye meets that 
amphitheatre where the habitations of art and nature are 
combined in beautiful harmony. See the white villages in- 
terspersed like hives over the green prospect, some sur- 
rounded by groves of golden fruit, others perched on the 
mountain's brow, overhung by the purple clusters of the 
vine, and veiled by the light refreshing clouds, watered by 
salubrious zephyrs from the transparent iEgean wave ; 
others buried among the bowers of the peace-bearing olive 
and the fragrant lentisk. Now bring your gaze nearer the 
strand and view the city, the nucleus of all these attrac- 
tions. See the marble mansions of the rich ; the institu- 
tions of learning ; the majestic seventy-four temples of 
Christ ; the hospitals, the asylums, and the unrivalled silk- 
factories. From this brilliant centre, cast a glance at the 
magnificent country seats, diverging in princely splendour, 
and surrounded by orange, lemon, pomegranate, almond, 
fig, and olive trees. Behold the choir of her fair maidens, 
like nymphs and naiads performing the Romaika dance, 
near her crystal fountains and streams. Amid such en- 
chanting scenes, when day retired, the lover with his lute 
rivalled the nightingale, and invoked the chaste moonlight 
to be propitious to his fond expectations. 

Here the word of God was preached by able ministers 



THE author's birth-place. ]5 

of the Gospel, a blessing which very few Grecian commu- 
nities enjoyed. Thus I have given you a brief sketch of 
the ancient and modern condition of the isle of my birth, 
that oasis of the Grecian Archipelago, 

" Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit, 
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute." 



16 BIRTH AND EDUCATION OP THE AUTHOR. 



CHAPTER II. 

BIRTH AND EDUCATION OP THE AUTHOR. 

My father's family resided the greater part of the year 
at a beautiful dwelling in the village Livadia, near the city 
of Chios. This abode was embowered in orange, fig, 
almond, pomegranate and lemon trees. Our other resi- 
dence was in the ward called Palceo-Castron (old castle,) a 
spot lying within the precincts of a ruined fortress. Both 
residences were built in the Genoese style. The lower 
story of the country house and that of the city were prin- 
cipally arched with cemented brick and stone, and the 
upper covered with a roof on which was formed a floor of 
cemented pebbles and pounded brick. The rooms were 
v^ry spacious, high and strong, affording protection against 
robbers. In the days of the conquests of the Latins, the 
houses of this description were defended by warriors. Be- 
fore my father purchased this country seat, a jar, filled 
with Italian coin, had been found by the owner, in the cel- 
lar, but was confiscated by the Moslem Governor, who 
happened to hear of it. South of the house was a vineyard 
producing mostly purple grapes, which we either pressed 
for making wine,* or dried as raisins. The prospect from 
the flat roofs, where we frequently took the air, was one of 
the finest on the island. Southward were seen the islands 
of Samos and Icaria, and about three miles off, in the same 

* The wines of Scio are even now as famous as in the days of Vir- 
gil and Horace. 



BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF THE AUTHOR. 17 

direction, the city of Chios, with its huge Citadel, exactly- 
opposite the Asiatic town and castle of Tchesmeh : (this 
word means fountain.) The intervening Straits of Scio 
are about six miles wide. This passage is a thoroughfare 
for ships from different points of the Archipelago, mostly 
bound to Chesmeh, a mart of excellent raisins and grapes, 
the chief produce of that peninsula, the southern cliffs of 
whose dark and frowning mountains guard the entrance to 
the bay of Ephesus. Westward, a short distance from this 
dwelling was the anciently opened marble-quarry (Lato- 
mion) which also, in modern times, has supplied with its 
variegated stone the city and suburbs. Northward, arose 
Mt. Epos, about three miles distant, second in height to 
Pelinaeum the northernmost summit on the island. At the 
foot of Epos, lay the charming white- walled town of Bron- 
tados, visible from our house. 

At the termination of Brontados near the seashore, is the 
celebrated Racte-Spring, whose salubrious water was yearly 
bottled up and transported with pompous ceremonies to the 
Sultana. Near Racte, is a large hewn rock, the supposed 
location of Homer's school, which name in Greek, Scho- 
leion tou Homerou, is familiar to every inhabitant. 

Eastward from our country seat, about one mi-le, lay the 
shore, denominated Glyphada, a square plot of ground on 
the north bank of the stream Cophus, where on festal 
days the youth of both sexes, belonging to our valley, as- 
sembled for the purpose of dancing, horse-racing, and 
other amusements. North and south of Glyphada lay two 
gardens full of all sorts of flowers and fruit for the accom- 
modation of the visiters. Between the city and Mt. Epos, 
ran three rivers, the St. Irene flowing beside the ward Pa- 
Iseo-Castron, the Cophus and the Armenes, about half a 



18 BIRTH AIS'D EDUCATION OF THE AUTHOR. 

mile apart and two miles from the St. Irene, all running 
eastward into the Straits of Scio. 

My maternal grandmother, Romana, resided in a house 
separated from my father's fields by a lane. The outside 
of her dwelling was unadorned, and in some parts dilapi- 
dated ; but the inside was richly furnished with articles of 
luxury imported by her two sons, who resided in Russia. 
Her silver plate was massive and elegantly wrought. In 
short, the eye of a Pasha might, if there admitted, have 
seen objects rivaling those of his palace, but fearing his 
rapacity, she displayed only to her relatives the evidence 
of her wealth. She was benevolent and pious. She of- 
fered to St. Mary's Church, at the foot of the Quarry-hill, 
a silver chandelier. My mother was her only daughter. 

A stone wall separated my father's vineyard from that 
of the English Consul. His mansion stood on a higher 
elevation, and was built chiefly in the European style. 

From the St. Irene to the foot of Mt. Epos, a space of 
six miles, there seemed a green sea waving with groves of 
orange, lemon, olive, fjg, pomegranate, and almond, on the 
low ground, and vines on the hillocks. This place was the 
most salubrious part of the island. Many Turkish Agas 
and Beys had their palaces there. 

Amid such peaceful, evergreen, and glowing scenes, I 
was born, April 1st, 1814, in the house of a distinguished 
Bishop, whom my mother was visiting. The circumstance 
of my birth in such a hallowed place was regarded by the 
superstitious as a favorable omen. 

My education, as I grew up, was of a pious character 
and imparted by a priest. Three of my eldest brothers 
attended the University of Scio. There they enjoyed 
advantages equal to those of any European college. Stu- 
dents even from America frequented it. The number 



BIRTU AND EDUCATION OF THE AUTHOR. 19 

of under-graduates was eight hundred. Its library con- 
sisted of sixty thousand works, mostly Greek. A press 
and philosophical apparatus were connected with it. A 
bust of the late Chian philosopher, Coray, executed by 
Canova, was placed in one of the apartments. 

My two other brothers, younger than niyself, being in- 
fants, attended no school. My two sisters were instructed 
by a Nun. The tasks imposed on myself were chiefly 
based on the articles of the Greek Faith. Our school- 
master used a rod, or rather a pole, with which from his 
chair he could reach every boy in the room. His principal 
occupation was mending stockings. The boys read aloud 
their lessons in studying them. If they ceased their peru- 
sal, the knotted olive-stick was put in motion. He often 
told us to worship the rod. Sometimes in my phrenzy, 
after receiving a severe blow, I left the school, and took 
up my quarters in the branches of a large olive-tree, where 
no one could discover me. There perched, I watched the 
dismissal of the other pupils,- before going home. Theo- 
dore, our master, the Pastor of St. Mary's Church, finding 
that I had been absent a week, sent his wife, Garufalia, 
with her servant to my parents to learn the cause. My 
father, perceiving that I had played truant, condemned me 
to a three days' diet on dry bread, with figs, and to ten ad- 
ditional prostrations before the Virgin's picture, morning 
and evening, together with extra prayers. Garufalia was 
very corpulent and lazy, and, on entering the school, or- 
dered several of the boys to station her chair, and steady 
her in taking her seat. Her advent was accompanied by 
merriment and general insubordination. Theodore bade 
us reverence his wife, and not sneeze before her, as we did 
by way of compliment to her snuft-taking. Her sight, on 
all occasions, overcame our gravity, notwithstanding the 



20 BIRTH AND EDUCATION OP THE AUTHOR. 

rod that was placed on his right. If any boy behaved so 
ill that the pole broke upon his thick skull, and diminished 
in size, the suffering urchin was obliged to furnish another 
olive-branch, a foot longer. This new rod would bear the 
name of the donor. I had three or four namesakes, as 
trophies of my obstreperonsness, broken over my cranium. 
The stick being too often spoiled, he procured from his 
best friend, the butcher, who was the author of his wife's 
corpulency, a fine cow-skin, which became the terror of 
the school. This new punishment was adopted on account 
of the complaints of parents whose children had been in- 
jured, and who were unwilling to continue furnishing rods. 
This cow-skin was inflicted upon the hand, in the manner 
of the American ferule. 

ANTIQUITIES OF SCIO. 

My master being too severe, I refused to go to his school 
any more. I was, therefore, sent to a nun, who, as I 
hoped from her female nature, might be more gentle to- 
wards me. She was blind, but handsome and intelligent. 
She knew her books by heart, and displayed great powers 
of mind. Besides her mental force, I was inclined to think 
she possessed powerful nerves, from the violence with 
which her long rod assailed me. Though blind, yet from 
the sound of my voice, she calculated my position, and let 
fly the corrective stick. I often dodged and saved my 
scull, but generally caught a severe rap on the shoulders. 
This tyranny was not of long duration. A letter from my 
father, then in Jassey, (the capital of Moldavia) informed 
my mother that he desired to place me under the charge of 
a private instructor. A Thessalian of high entertainments, 
named Demetriades, entered our house, and employed the 
most skilful and interesting means to inspire me with a love 



^g^i^^^^^__llg. 



1 



BIRTH AND EDUCATION OP THE AUTHOR. 21 



of learning. His manner won upon my affections, and 
being a patriot, secretly connected with the Panhellenic 
Iletseria (Society), for the restoration of Grecian independ- 
ence, he labored continually to reveal to me the glory and 
splendor of our ancestry. He led me from place to place, 
through the island of Scio, and entertained me with descrip- 
tions of the ruins and the history of the visissitudes to 
which this place had been subjected from remote antiquity. 
He painted the magnificence of Scio, where the temple of 
Jupiter on the highest peak of Pelinseum mingled with the 
clouds of the Thunderer ; — the Delphinion, on a lower ele- 
vation, — Minerva Polias, in the city, — Neptune's shrine on 
a promontory, — and Phanaean Apollo's temple, on the 
southern cape Mastichon. The whole mountain ridge of 
thirty miles in length displayed groves and shrines com- 
mingled, and statues peopling the roof and the peristyle. 
Towns and vineyards looked down the cliff, upon the green 
waving vales. Here, especially in the days when Scio was 
a sea-ruling power, her splendor was unrivalled. The arts 
1 and sciences were so happily blended with nature, that they 
' seemed a part of God's own handiwork. The city of 
I Chios was one of the seven that claimed the honour of hav- 
I ing given birth to Homer. Despite the assertions of Hero- 
I dotus, the general impression of poets and historians was 
j that he sprang from Scio. His most common title is the 
"blind old man of Scio's rocky isle !" Byron speaks of 
his genius as the " Chian Muse !" The most creditable of 
the ancient writers acknowledge him as a native of Scio. 
Homereion or Temple of Plomer was there ; and coins are 
even now found bearing his name. Other cities honoured 
him in a similar manner, but of all that lay claim to his 
birth, none patronized his genius so well as Chios, Hero- 
dotus relates that he was cast upon the shore of the island 



22 BIRTH AND EDUCATION OP THE AUTHOH. 

near the town of Bolissos, and asserts that he was hospita- 
bly received into the house of an opulent citizen, who en- 
couraged his talent by his liberality. Scio, therefore, has 
a spiritual claim to the honour of being the mother, by pa- 
tronage, of the greatest mind that ever graced minstrelsy. 

The School of Homer, already mentioned, is handed 
down by tradition as being located near the Racte spring. 
Mt. Epos must have been so named from its association 
with the renowned bard. Its name signifies " verse." The 
town of Bolissos on the northwestern side of the island near 
Black-cape, (Melsena-Acra,) which is connected by tradi- 
tions with Homer, is still inhabited by minstrels. By arti- 
ficial means, the Bollssians are nearly all blind, and maimed. 
They carry a staff like the ancient Rhapsodists and lean 
upon it, while singing, in the same attitude. Pindar assures 
us that the Homerids and Rhapsodists were a single class of 
minstrels, by which assertion, he may mean that they were 
descendants of Homer, or, as the word implies Homerids. 
The Bolissians answer the description in every thing except 
their learning, which of course is wholly insignificant. 

The work of Coray, the Chian philosopher, on the Arch- 
aeology of Scio, contains an investigation of the Homeric 
question, with a long catalogue of distinguished writers born 
on this island. In this list. Homer is enumerated. Coray 
himself might be added to the number, as a worthy succes- 
sor of those heroes of thought, and as the brightest gem of 
Grecian talent adorning the present century. He died but 
a few years since, at Paris, where, in Pere la Chaise, his 
tomb stands among the sepulchres of the greatest intellects 
of Europe. His name is well known to every thorough 
scholar of the classics. 



THE GREEK BEVOLUTIOX. 23 



CHAPTER III. 

THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 

My education was interrupted by the departure of m-y 
instructor to Thessaly. The Greek Revolution broke forth 
soon after, and opposed a barrier to all intellectual improve- 
ment. In 1821, the first battles commenced in the countries 
along the Danube. The news of the spread of the insur- 
rection kindled many of the Chians with patriotic enthusiasm. 
*• Hurrah for Liberty" was shouted by the students of the 
University. Many of the citizens, disconnected with office, 
joined in the notes of exultation. The magistrates and 
clergy, however, used every effort to render Scio neutral. 
Though the other islands of Greece thundered with revolt, 
our own remained peaceful. With us, there had never been 
stationed a Greek militia, as there was in other places, 
ready to combine in a revolutionary movement. Our neigh- 
bours, Ipsara and Samos, roared in our hearing with Free- 
dom's cannon ; those two sentinels of the Asiatic border 
stood in their rocky pride, bidding defiance to the Crescent, 
while the shore of innocent Scio trembled. 

The revolt awakened the Grand Seignior's direst venge- 
ance ; — but failing to conquer the Greek armies, he 
strengthened his garrisons and let loose his myrmidons 
upon the Greek neutrals. Notwithstanding the submission 
^of Scio, he sent thither a three-tailed Pasha, Vehid, who 
came with tribes of marauders, exacting money and unpaid 
labour from the natives. By an edict, every native was de- 
clared a slave at the mercy of the conquerors. Murders 



24 THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 

were frequent. Persons of both sexes were insulted or put 
to death on the slightest pretext. An uncle of mine was 
shot dead, for the crime of smoking, while a Turk was 
passing his window. The Moslem asserted that he could 
not bear to see a Greek appear so luxurious. Such guards 
of power, soon blasted all social delight. Like wolves those 
inhuman tyrants prowled about our habitations, not satis- 
fied with contributions of our wealth, but improving our 
neutral character to revel in our blood. 

As ptedges of fidelity to the Turkish authority, the Chians 
gave hostages from among the most distinguished members 
of the ecclesiastical and civil order, including the Arch- 
bishop Plato. These men were thrown into a gloomy, 
narrow dungeon, in the citadel, where they suffered the 
most terrible privations. These victims, ninety in number, 
seemed already half-sacrificed on the altar of neutrality. 
The prompt and unreserved concessions of the Chians had 
only^ the effect of giving the tyrant a keener relish for 
cruelty. Exaction, insult and murder continued their fright- 
ful ravages, till it seemed that the Turks were endeavoring 
to exasperate their slaves, or whip them up to retaliation. 
Thousands of the most respectable citizens, were set to dig- 
ging the trench (suda) about the castle to surround it with 
sea- water. Under the scimitar the sufferers were compelled 
day after day to endure the most abject and fatiguing servi- 
tude. How could the enlightened Chians countenance this 
barbarity 1 Nothing but their trust in a Saviour consoled 
them for their trials. Calmly and readily, the heirs of opu- 
lence wrestled with exhaustion, beyond the most servile 
African, If any sank from weakness, a thrust from the 
scimitar restored them to activity. Sweat and blood mingled 
with the soil. Tears embittered life, and burning sighs 
maddened the souL Patience could not repress the vol- 



THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 26 

canic outbreaks of natural indignation. " Long live liberty 1" 
would resound from some lip ; — the scimitar answered tho 
daring slave by giving him that last solace of the wrongecS 
the boon of death. My father was at this time absent. The 
Moslems rummaged every house to discovernveapons of war- 
fare. Those of my father escaped detection, and we sold 
them privately to a few natives of Brontados. No resist- 
ance was yet made by us, although many of the oppressed 
natives fled to Greece and joined her army. 

The constant outrages of the soldiery kept up a perpetual 
excitement. Superstition awakened the phantoms of saints 
and martyrs. Miracles were expected. The churches re- 
sounded with prayer, and the rocks were covered with 
weeping children, extending their hands towards Greece 
and crying for aid. Scio was the only helpless member of 
the iEgean Sisterhood ; she seemed destined for destruction. 
Earthquakes, hail and fiery meteors foretold the approach 
of some dreadful catastrophe. The bloodiest omen was their 
daily suffering, the unjust returnof their neutrality. Through- 
out the Turkish empire, voices demanded Scio as an object 
of retribution to atone for the victories gained by the other 
Greek communities. Moslems returning home, spread the 
tale of the riches of Scio and excited all the fanatical tribes 
of Islamism to glut at once their avarice and cruelty by 
invading that island. Recruits of adventurers constantly 
arrived, hastened by the fears of being forestalled by luckier 
marauders. The Sultan stirred up his people to the wildest 
fury by calling upon them to avenge the defeat of his armies 
in Greece, All Greeks, whether neutrals or not, were de- 
voted by the imperial firman to extermination. The Os- 
manlies were called upon to show their piety by murdering 
the Christians. Permitted by the great monarchs of Chris- 
tendom, the Grand Seignior followed his barbarous plans of 
8 



26 THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 

extinguishing the nation, from which the light of civilization 
and true religion dawned on Europe. Scio became a scene 
of the wildest triumph of fanaticism, until a different state of 
things interrupted for a short time, this drama of rapine and 
murder. 

THE SAMIAN INVASION. 

The Greek fleet came to rescue the island ; but was con- 
strained to retire by the prayers of the Chian magistrates 
and clergy to be let alone. Bribes were offered which Tom- 
pazis, the Greek admiral, refused. The Chian merchants 
went en masse in front of the citadel, delivering their pro- 
perty into the guardianship of the Turks, and hoping secu- 
rity from neutrality, despite their innumerable sufferings 
from invasion. Unluckily, about March 1st, 1822, an ex- 
pedition was prepared at Samos to invade Scio, and expel 
the Turks that occupy the citadel. This movement was 
disconnected with the affairs of the Greek State, and not 
sanctioned by the senate. The Samian governor, Lycurgus, 
and the Chian veteran Burnias, were the two leaders. The 
latter commanded a few fugitive Chians, and the former, 
the flotilla of forty small vessels, chiefly sloops, manned by 
about two hundred warriors. Their design was to take 
Scio from the Turks. They landed there and were hailed 
as deliverers by the common people and students. The 
mountains echoed to " Long live Liberty !" (Zeto e eleu- 
theria.) The magistrates and ecclesiastics refused to com- 
municate with the Samians, except to order them in Christ's 
name to evacuate the island and not to exasperate the Mus- 
sulmans. Lycurgus and Burnias were deaf to all entreaties 
and bribes. The Archbishop from his dungeon, promul- 
gated a general excommunication against all Greek inva- 
ders, but to no purpose. The adventurers with hot-headed 



THE GBEEE REVOLUTION. 27 

patriotism formed their little ill-armed troop in battle array. 
The onset was made, and the Turks after considerable hard 
fighting fled towards the citadel. The palaces of the Agas 
and Beys were plundered by the Samians. Many valuable 
Turkish mansions were burnt. The shore being cleansed 
of barbarians, the conquerors made no attempt to storm the 
fort, which kept up a brisk cannonade against the city, and 
set fire, destroying several streets. Burnias, who had served 
under Napoleon, had courage, but not ability enough to in- 
fluence the Samian leader to storm the castle. They once 
forced a passage by night beneath the walls, but hearing 
the noise within, retreated in disorder. So careless were 
they, that in their revels they used no precaution. During 
their sleep, a band of Turks sallied, spiked their guns, and 
left them snoring. Finally the siege of the castle was aban- 
doned by Burnias, who talked of leaving the place, bearing 
away a good supply of plunder. 

Conceive then of our apprehensions at the prospect of 
being left alone to bear the brunt of Moslem revenge. 
Terror was depicted on every countenance. I remember 
the paleness that supplanted the flush on the cheek of beauty. 
The discord between the two leaders, each of whom claimed 
the precedence, occasioned an abandonment of their expe- 
dition, to the gratification of their spite against the Neutrals, 
whom they despoiled. It was a pity to see a community 
of one hundred and thirty thousand souls jeopardized by 
two hundred adventurers. This terrible farce was to give 
place to a tragedy which exhibited the bloodiest scenes of 
the age, to the view of Christendom. A change for the 
worse would appear almost impossible. Society and pub- 
lic order were broken up. The houses in view of the 
Consulate, had been occupied by the Samians as barracks 
and fortresses. My father's house was selected for its 



28 THE GREEK KEVOLUTION. 

commanding position as a military station, and was da- 
maged by the disorderly acts of the soldiery quartered 
there. 

ARRIVAL OF THE TURKISH FLEET. THE BOMBARDMENT. 

r It was April 11th, 1822, the dawn of Holy Thursday, a 
day of prayer and fasting. My mother had awakened all 
her children, in order to attend them to the Church of La- 
tomitissa, which commanded a view of the Straits of Scio. 
In accordance with a custom handed down from the primi- 
tive ages of Christianity, we proceeded to the sacred spot. 
During the service, just before sunrise, an alarm was raised } 
by a deacon, that the Ottoman Armada was in sight. 
Shrieks of terror followed this announcement. Many 
began to quit the Church, some hasting to rescue their 
families, others fleeing to the mountains, and others vainly 
seeking admission into the Consulates, The High-priest 
commended our souls to God, dismissed us, and remained 
alone to burn incense and supplicate for divine mercy in 
our behalf. My mother, taking her children, sped to the 
English Consul, an obligated friend of our family, and 
kneeling before him, begged his protection for her innocent 
ofli*spring 1 He, at last, complied with her request. His 
house being full of native Catholics and Ionian Greeks, 
we were reduced to the necessity of taking up our abode 
in the stable, together with three other large families. The 
stable was the lower story of his house, on the north side, 
lighted only by the door (when open,) and by a loop-hole, 
an inch and a half wide. This room, most of the time 
wholly ^dark, and paved with pebbles, was about twelve 
feet wide and twenty -five feet long. This was the bed of 
about thirty-five souls, and subsequently proved the grave 
of some of the occupants. 



i 



THE GREEK BEVOLUTIOX. 29 

As we were going to the Consulate, following our mo- 
ther, we saw the collossal Armada advancing, with its 
bloody standard beckoning to us in the breeze. Seven 
ships of the line stood before us like monsters of the deep. 
Twenty-six frigates and corvettes accompanied by smaller 
craft and innumerable boats, rolled towards us like a gilded 
tide of devastation. The bombardment commenced; the 
earth shook with the thunder pealing from the open broad- 
sides of the entire fleet. The Citadel discharged from 'its 
battlements its fiery rage, and swelled the mighty chorus 
of Ottoman strife. Fires raged from house to house ; 
shrieks arose, and smoke desolated the sky. The Turks 
aided by engineers from Western Europe, practised gun- 
nery on a grand scale, pointing their pieces towards crowds 
of innocent families, that stretched their bleeding arms and 
cried for mercy. Mussulmans and civilized Europeans in 
their union produced an amalgamation of cruelty and skill 
more shocking than the rioting of a mere savage. Chris- 
tian invention when combined with Moslem barbarity gene- 
rates the deadly sublimate of all that is hellish in man. 
Lamentable is it that such chemical compounds of the bad 
qualities of different nations have been emptied from the 
vial of uncharitableness, upon the neutral Chians I 

Here, in Scio, imperial trickery sported with justice, and 
insured the success of its bloody farce with the sanction of 
diplomacy. A pompous armada is sent under pretext of 
battle, while massacre is intended ; a furious bombardment 
is opened as if direct against some formidable Capital, 
while in reality all this display of warlike engines is to 
cover the cowardly or malicious assault of the Grand 
Seignior against a helpless and unarmed community, whose 
immense riches he and his myrmidons are thirsting for. 
The Greek Revolution is his apology for any cruel act. 



30 THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 

He can, for formality's sake call Scio a powerful rebel and 
consign her to ruin, without sparing even women and chil- 
dren from death or captivity. 

The confusion occasioned by the siege was indescribable, 
while Stygian smoke rolled across the island. The shout- 
ing of parents for their children and the shrieks of the 
dying were drowned in the tempest-war of the cannonade. 
From the beautiful village of Thymiana southward to the 
location of Homer's school, an extent of about ten miles 
along the fairest part of the Chian coast, were ranged the 
Oak-leviathans, playing their infernal notes and sending 
their hissing shell and ball into the amphitheatre of plain 
and hill, where families were scattered in bewilderment and 
terror. A Turkish frigate, which was carelessly piloted, 
struck a rock, just off the School of Homer. The object 
of the crew was to land there, to slaughter the Brontadu- 
sians, who were the only villagers of Scio that resisted the 
Osmanlies. The warriors were perched on a cliff, and, on 
seeing the frigate strike the coast, descended like eagles to 
catch their game. With sabres in teeth, they swam to the 
frigate, butchered part of the crew, and, left the rest drown- 
ing in the waves. After this exploit, they returned home- 
ward. One of them, with his bloody sword in hand, came 
to the English Consulate to greet his intended bride, and 
hie with her to a cave on Mt. Epos, where no Turks could, 
with safety, penetrate. His request was refused by the 
parents. The scene was affecting. The warrior leaped 
over the wall, casting a doleful glance at the weeping girl, 
who was hardly restrained by her parents from following 
him. 

During the day, the forty Samian vessels spread their 
sails at the approach of the Armada, and reached their 



THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 31 

neighbouring island, without rescuing any but their own 
soldiery and a few of their friends. Many distinguished 
families, about Thymiana, had resorted to the sea-shore, 
but saw every means of escape gone! On this day very 
few Turks landed, because they suspected that the Greek 
warriors lay there in ambush. The inmates of the Citadel, 
although they viewed the confusion of the inhabitants of 
the city, dared not make a sortie. Twenty or more Turks 
being let loose from the tombs where they had been con- 
cealed by Catholics from the Samian rage, entered the 
Leper Hospital and slaughtered the inmates, causing a tor- 
rent of blood to roll from the threshhold. 

Night veiled the frightful scene, and silenced the siege. 
The Chians passed the hours of sleep in terrible uncer- 
tainty of their, fate on the morrow. The general submis- 
sion of the citizens and the surrendering of the hostages 
was a sufficient pledge of the neutrality of this defenceless 
community, and the sufferers hoped, at least, that the lives 
of females and infants would be respected. Some expected 
that the foreign Consuls would overawe Turkish ferocity and 
prevent the unwarrantable effusion of blood. These anti- 
cipations were groundless. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE MASSACRE AND THE AUTHOK's CAPTIVITY. 

On Good Friday, at sunrise, the Turks landed and pre-* 
pared for their work of devastation. At the call from the 
Minaret, they performed their ablutions and said their 
prayers, invoking the smile of Allah upon their dark deeds. 
The immense concourse of the Pasha's hordes bowed 
simultaneously, kneeled thrice, and as often stained the 
pure soil of Scio with their treacherous kiss. After this 
ceremony, these emulators of Judas turned their faces again 
eastward, blessed Mahomet, thanked Allah, and then drew 
their swords. They were subdivided into bands, for the 
purpose of encompassing and devastating the island. Rams 
were sacrificed, and their flag bathed in the blood of the 
brute. The signal of assault was given, and they sprang 
forth, howling and firing against the Greeks. The city 
was penetrated ; the axes resounded against the doors ; 
victims shrieked ; flames raged ; walls crumbled. 

My mother who had been to the well to fill the water- 
jars, was surprised at seeing the assault renewed ; and re- 
gretted not having saved more of her valuable articles to 
support the family during our confinement. Not anticipat- 
ing the immediate arrival of the enemy to our village, she 
left ihe Consulate, and hurried to rescue some jewelry and 
plate. Bidding her daughter Maruko to read prayers till 
her safe return, she sped alone to her mother's house 
where the treasures lay concealed. Soon afier her depar- 



THE MASSACRE AXD THE AUTHOR's CAPTIVITY. 33 

ture, the neighbourhood resounded with the approach of the 
enemy. In my fears for her life, I unobservedly left the 
Consulate, and sped to rescue the author of my existence. 
I would have sacrificed my own life to save hers. On 
i^aching the house I found the door fastened. I knocked 
and called. She recognized my voice and opened, exclaim- 
ing, " My son ! return immediately !'' I would not, but en- 
tered the wine press where our treasures were concealed. 
She placed in her bosom various valuables, and filled a bas- 
ket with gold and silver plate. I took a box of jewelry, 
and while we were preparing to quit the place, the Turks 
were already at our door, breaking it with their axes. My 
mother, half frantic, telling me to follow, leaped from the 
window, and fled to the English Consulate, on reaching 
which, she swooned. As for me, I attempted to do the 
same, but in my precipitation injured myself by striking a 
stone, and fainted. A rifle-ball whistled near my ear. I 
arose with a shriek. Before me, stood a Turk, holding the 
trunkless head of one of our neighbours. The blood dripped 
on nne, and the Moslem said, "Fear not! you are mine." 
(Korkma oghlan benimsing !) I was then ordered to disclose 
our remaining treasures. After securing these, he examin- 
ed every part of the house, firing his pistols against the 
mirrors, and destroying other frangible articles of furniture. 
After this Vandal freak, he assailed with his dagger the 
pictures of the Saints, plucking out their eyes and forcing 
me to utter anathemas against them. Our library, which 
he looked upon as the inspiration of his enemies, was at- 
tacked with uncommon spite. He drew his j-atagan, and 
mutilating them, ordered the prisoners to kindle with their 
leaves a fire to burn the house. After lading the mules and 
slaves with spoil, he conducted us to ray father's dwelling, 
which met the fate of the preceding. Our band, ex usive 



34 THE MASSACRE AND THE AUTHOR's CAPTIVITY. 

of captives, now consisted of about fifty Asiatics under a 
Chian Turk, named Katirjee. They entered the Church of 
Latomitissa. I followed them with a heavy heart while 
they desecrated the Virgin's fane. After setting fire to the 
Church, we proceeded toward the river Cophus, on the 
banks of which were many valuable country-seats. That 
of Mr. Cavuras, a wealthy merchant was despoiled by our 
band. Within it we met the proprietor with his Icarian 
servant, just arrived from the mountain to obtain provi- 
sions for his family. Cavuras was wounded, but suc- 
ceeded in making his exit, leaving his attendant as a prisoner 
in the hands of the enemy. By torture, the captive was 
forced to reveal the hidden treasures of his patron. Resum- 
ing our march, we reached a strong Genoese-built stone 
edifice, containing several families who had fled from tho 
city. The Turks laid siege to it, firing through the win- 
dows from the branches of the surrounding trees. The 
door was burst, and fire was set, but was prevented by the 
stone arches from ascending. Straw was thrown in with 
the design of suffocating the inmates by the smoke. TVIany 
of both sexes leaped from the windows and were killed by 
the fall. Others mounted upon the roof, where they were 
shot by the besiegers, who had climbed the olive-trees. Out 
of about one hundred souls mostly young persons, only 
three escaped. The dead were beheaded and searched. 
Three of the heads were carried by prisoners, who held 
them by their locks. Considerable plunder was found. 
Great sums of money were taken from the corpses. 



35 



EXCURSION FOR SPOIL AND HEADS. 

Our next course was towards Brontados, one of the most 
important towns of Scio. The natives being chiefly sea- 
faring, were bold and enterprising, and in all respects differ- 
ent from the other Chians. These Brontadusians had with- 
drawn up Mt. Epos, with their families, leaving their village 
to the despoiler. Though they were warlike, yet their 
numbers being few, and ill-armed, they preferred to conduct 
in safety their wives and children to Bolissos, the village on 
the northwest of the island looking towards Ipsara. As 
we entered Brontados, the Church of St. George first at- 
tracted the rapacity of our band. The priest was kneeling 
in prayer to Jehovah that he would save his people. The 
Moslems on seeing him, exhibited their contempt for the 
Christian religion, by various acts of violence against the 
pictures of the Saints, and then they assailed the venerable 
priest and cut him in pieces. The Church we left on fire, 
and as the day declined, turned our steps back towards the 
city. The doleful procession of the prisoners, bearing the 
spoil and the heads, contrasted with the elate movements of 
the murderous captors. On reaching the formerly enchant- 
ing scenery about the river Armenes, our course was over 
carcasses of both sexes. The river swelled by a shower, 
bore evidence of a great slaughter farther up towards its 
source ; for it was tinged with blood and flowed with car- 
casses. I shall never forget the sight. It seemed like a 
tributary of the Stygian waters flowing to Hades and lash- 
ing the throne of Pluto with its gory billow. We passed 
onwards through places where in my infancy I had sported. 
My tears flowed where my laughter had once echoed. 1 



36 EXCURSION FOR SPOIL AND HEADS. 

saw the mutilated bodies of individuals familiar to me. 
There they lay half denuded, exposed to the insulting tread 
of the Osmanlie. This prospect was worse than the thought 
of my own perils. We constantly fell in with other bands 
of Turks, uttering the fiercest yells in salute, and displaying 
their joy by decapitating many prisoners. All the wicked 
exultation of Pandemonium seemed concentrated in this 
most delightful spot, where nature and man once combined 
to form a paradise. Existence appeared more like a dream 
than ever, and being a boy, I feared that the Turks were 
decimators of all mankind and predestined as the advanced 
guard of death. Desirous of proceeding to the Giyphada*. 
shore, our band cut across lots through gardens, hacking 
the gates in pieces. Here had been the residence of many 
of the parents of my playmates. The peaceful dwellings 
had been changed to human slaughter houses. Alas ! how 
altered was the scene of my boyish freaks with my joyous 
mates. The innocent laugh was exchanged for the murder- 
er's howl ; blood bedewed the verdure where the morning 
of our life had arisen ; there the sunset of many a noble 
frame had been prematurely hastened by the invader. The 
shore was covered with Turks triumphing over the unjust- 
ly slaughtered neutrals ! The carcasses of the matron and 
her protector were dishonored by the enemies of pure and 
civilized union ! There they lay headless and despoiled ! 
A splendid residence in Livadia, a Turkish palace, was set 
on fire by a party of Turks, who mistook it for a Greek 
building, from the absence of the Arabic inscriptions, and 
from the bastions erected there by the revolutionary leader 
Burnias, who had there established his head-quarters during 
the Samian invasion. The real owner, happening to arrive 
during the conflagration was highly incensed, supposing it 



EXCURSION__FOR HEADS AND SPOIL. 37 

a wilful design to injure his property. A skirmish ensued 
in the heat of passion, and ended in the death oj a few 
Moslems. Around the river Cophus which here meets the 
Straits of Scio, we saw thousands of Turks returning from 
their Greek hunt. They had, according to their own 
opinion, well improved the day, and were ready to thank 
their mighty Allah, for having smiled on them through the 
caligenous canopy of devastation. They sat on the ground, 
smoked, and leisurely eyed, counting the heads carried by 
the prisoners, and calculating the bounty that would bo 
given for them by the Pasha, their customer. 

On the south side of Glyphada now lay the ruins of the 
buildings of Glycas, a merchant. On the north were the 
gardens, and edifice of the famous orchardist, Peristeris, 
exhibiting similar marks of outrage. Between these two 
estates, the air was alive with the evidences of devastation. 
The driving smoke of the conflagration, the infernal scent 
from the burning carcasses of the inmates, the rush of the 
flameg, the wild racing of domestic animals of all kinds, 
all formed a horrid scene. The shouts of Turks and the 
shrieks of victims, together with the noise of crumbling 
walls and the rattling of the musketry, were re-echoed from 
the shore to Mt. Epos, whose chasms returned the sound 
with ten-fold force. All the aged and invalids were con- 
sumed in their houses. The young and middle aged had 
endeavoured to escape to the mountains, except such 
as had vainly hoped for security by bolting their doors 
and remaining at home. Nearly all prisoners were taken 
from houses burst open by the invaders. Such as had fled 
to the mountains were hunted down and shot like game. 
The caves, ravines, and shrubbery were crammed with fu- 
gitives, whose disasters were delayed by the difficulty of 



38 DIVISION OF THE SPOIL. 

access to those parts of the island. Among those over- 
taken, was a Brontadusian female, named Andreomene, 
(brave). She had returned to visit her husband, who was 
ill at Brantados. Meeting Moslems on her arrival, she 
vaulted and directed up Mt. Epos the mule, on which were 
two panniers holding her three children. The invaders pur- 
sued, she rolled rocks upon them, killing several and wound- 
ing many. Being injured by their shot, she was at last 
forced to surrender. Her two youngest children were cut 
in pieces before her eyes, and the eldest enslaved. She was 
then beheaded. This bloody trophy made the prisoners 
shudder. 

DIVISION OF THE SPOIL. 

Following the shore, our gang bent its course toward the 
public walkk)f St. Hypatius, where stood one of the four 
Greek Hospitals of the island. Here, before its destruc- 
tion, cases of the plague had been treated. The situation 
Was elevated, beautiful and healthy. Proceeding westward 
we entered a garden, and reclined under a bower, for the 
purpose of dividing the spoil. My master, a native Turk 
of Scio, fell into a dispute with the leader of the Asiatics, 
about a prisoner, a girl of great beauty. The captain 
claimed her as the lion's share, but my master demanded 
her as a reward for his guidance during the predatory and 
slaughterous excursion. 

The leader, unwilling to be deprived of the fair captive, 
threw my master into a well, and covering him with stones 
left him to perish. In that manner he literally evaded the 
commandment of the Koran, which forbids the shedding of 
Mohammedan blood. He then turned to the prisoners, bid- 
ding on pain of death, not to reveal to the other Turks the 
crime he had perpetrated. After this murder, a novel divi- 
sion of the plunder was concerted. The plan was to start 



DIVISION OP THE SPOIL. 39 

from a'distance, blindfolded, and claim what they severally- 
touched with their hands. This manoeuvre gave me a 
chance to select my master. As I lay among the senseless 
articles of plunder, I watched the course of a kind-looking 
Daghalach, (Turkman,) and moved a little to fall into his 
hands. This ruse was not noticed by the stupid barbarians. 
We omit the detail of various outrages on the fe- 
male captives, and will now relate the scenes at a large 
building in Palseocastron, where some of the Turks had 
made their quarters. As the neighbouring houses were 
consumed, the bands of marauders experienced much diffi- 
culty in finding accommodations for their immense num- 
bers. This edifice was called Casarma, from having been 
used as an Arsenal by the Genoese in the days of their 
supremacy. It stood near the city residence of John Giu- 
dice, the English Consul. We entered the second story 
«nd reclined upon the variegated marble floor. Evening 
was drawing on apace, and we all sought repose, but could 
not find it. The view of the trunkless heads of friends and 
relatives lying about us, or suspended, and the recollection 
of the slaughter, prevented every prisoner from sleeping. 
The sinister looks of the Turks kept apprehension alive. 
We were not allowed either to talk or weep. Sighs were 
interdicted. As night advanced, the marauders fell asleep, 
and we ventured to communicate to one another in a low 
tone, the tale of our sufferings. The captive girls wept 
profusely at their cheerless lot. The young men who were 
selected as victims to be sacrificed on the morrow, conceal- 
ed their faces in their hands, and poured forth floods of sor- 
row, until nature was exhausted. Here were members of 
opulent families conducted from the luxurious parlour to the 
slaughter-house. They suffered pangs keener than death 



40 THE EXECUTION OF THE CAPTIVES. 

itself. Their high refinement made their condition more 
appalling. Nothing but the inviolable law of God for self- 
preservation afforded restraint to the wish for destruction. 
They raised their eyes towards Heaven, and prayed for a 
seat at the right hand of the Redeemer. When perfect still- 
ness reigned within and without the Casarma, a captive 
nun invoked the Saviour in our behalf. Her voice consoled 
us and reconciled the victims to their fate. Looking back 
to Christ, the paragon of Martyrs, the captives exclaimed, 
" Genetheto to thelena sou !" (Thy will be done !) 

THE EXECUTION OF THE CAPTIVES. 

Saturday morning broke thrillingly upon us. At an early 
hour, the captive procession advanced towards the castle, 
where our fate would be determined. Mournfully we step- 
ped forward, casting a tearful gaze at the altered scenes of 
youth. Our course was over carcasses. On reachinty the 
public walk, called Bunakion, between the city and castle, 
a shuddering seized us. Here, at even tide, enjoying the 
brealh of Asia, across the blue bay, formerly strolled the 
pride and fashion of our metropolis. In this refreshing 
spot, the maiden and her lover once wandered and held 
sweet converse, as in all civil and moral communities, where 
the pure union of the sexes is a law of their faith. Now 
instead of such a charming scene, we saw the legalized 
cut-throat with his victim. Here were executions and tor- 
tures, instead of conversation and entertainment. Scimi- 
tars glanced where glad eyes once beamed. Blood flowed 
and heads fell, where roses and blushes had once com- 
mingled. The thought of such a contrast produced a dis- 
cord of events in my memory, grating like the accents of 
demons upon my mind. The flash of the descending sci- 



THE EXECUTION OF THE CAPTIVES. 41 

mitar entered my nature and burnt itself into ray being. 
Thus were my boyish feelings branded by sights of burn- 
ing injustice. 

Our procession traveled over the carcasses along the 
path, and entered the formidable citadel, within which lay 
the original Turk-town, comprising about one thousand 
families. This immense fortress built by the Latins, is said 
to have been cemented by the white of eggs, brought from 
Asia. It stands by the shore, surrounded partly by the 
sea and partly by a trench, over which four bridges are 
throv/n, on opening as many gates. Within its enclosure, 
his cruel Highness the Pasha awaited the returning bands 
of marauders. His officers kept a strict account of the pro- 
ceedings, to transmit to the Sultan, and thus testify to their 
destructive industry. Bounty was paid for heads, and then 
every scribe noted down the transaction on the day-book of 
tyranny, as was customary. To prevent deception, the 
ears were cut off from the heads, and then pickled and bar- 
reled. They were sent to the Sultan as tokens of their 
obedience or as bulletins of their success. Sometimes, an 
entire head was pickled and forwarded to the Grand Seignior. 
This honor was granted only to such rebel-pates as had 
belonged to distinguished primates, magistrates, or eccle- 
siastics. Foreign envoys at Stamboul were entertained 
with such exhibitions. TheBabi Humaiun, Sublime Porte^ 
displayed on its front a {ew of these heads, to be viewed by 
the traveler. ]\Iahmoud once had the queer taste to place a 
head on his table at a banquet or levee, where Christian 
( envoys were present. Such hellish proceedings were the 
chief objects which excited the indignation of Europe. 
Such horrors ought to call forth the deepest sympathy for 
the sufferers. If the heart of every reader or hearer of 
4 



42 THE EXECUTION OP THE CAPTIVES. 

such events, could have been broken by the thought of such 
atrocity, the Greek Revolution vi^ould not have been so pro- 
tracted. Alas ! — the world is, through love of romance, 
too apt to countenance and permit the hellish crimes of 
savages. Imagine my feelings as 1 stood in presence of 
that Pasha, whose nod was sufficient to order my exit to 
eternity. The amount of carnage was enormous. Twelve 
hundred heads had already been noted in the tale of the 
bounty given for each. Swords began to issue from their 
scabbards, with a noise like a death-toll to our ears. Our 
sentence was given ! — The young men were to be executed, ■ 
and the girls and boys sold. Thus my being a mere lad f J 
saved me. Lamentations resounded at the separation of 
kindred. Mothers and sisters were torn from the victims, 
who were hurried by the executioners with business-like t 
despatch without the castle to be slain in the public walk. 
The citadel was already gory enough, and the Pasha had 
lost the curiosity which the novelty first afforded ; conse- g' 
quently he only went occasionally to the battlements to 
amuse himself in beholding the executions. The young 
men seeing their tyrants inexorable, followed, obeying the 
command of their mothers to fall like martyrs, prefering 
a glorious dissolution to a disgraceful apostacy. When the i 
victims were stationed on the public walk, each one was 
ordered to kneel. The martyr knelt exclaiming, " ranestheti 
mou Kyrie," (remember me Lord !") While he said these 
words, the scimitar fell upon his neck, severing it at a blow, 
so suddenly that the tongue continued moving. Then the 
Turk coolly applied the sabre to his own lips, wiping the 
blood with his mouth. Often the pleasure of the executioner 
was exhibited in attempting to cut off the head before the 
victim could say " Remember me Oh Lord !" He would 






THE EXECUTION OF THE CAPTIVES. 43 

make a feint of striking and then wait a moment, tormenting 
the victim with partial cuts and thrusts of his weapon, after 
the manner of a savage of the wildest ferocity. An hour 
sometimes passed before the coup-de-grace, [final blow.] 



44 THE AUTHOR SOLD. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE AUTHOR SOLD. HORRORS OF SERVITUDE. 

Young men and maidens confounded with the spiritless 
article of plunder, had been forced upon the market, in such 
quantities, that many were left to be disposed of. As for 
myself, I still remained on hand. My master, finally, tied 
me to a cord, and hawked me about the streets, doing his 
own auctioneering, and exclaiming, " How much for the 
lion." In praise of a fine animal or slave, the word arslan 
(lion) is considered the height of encomium. Meeting a 
friend, my master begged him to make an offer, and finding 
it satisfactory, I was bought and paid for, on the spot. My 
master was a Turk, named Soliman Aga, who bought me 
for fifty piastres and a mutton chop. The Turkish name 
of Mustapha was given me in exchange for Christophoros. 
Our residence now was in one of the dwellings, in the broad 
area of the citadel, occupied only by the Turks. The sen- 
sations connected with the appraisal of my person were as 
indescribably ludicrous, as the reality was painful to my 
thoughts. Alas for poor Mustapha, passing through the 
hands of two masters, and now in the possession of a third. 
Christian Youth of America, may you never be reduced to 
such a terrible extremity, as to be bartered for, and reduced 
to a market value. Ye Sons of Washington, may you never 
suffer the fate of the children of Homer ! May your sisters 
never be subjected to the disgrace of falling into the hands 
of an avaricious Jew ! Many a fair Chian maiden was bought 



HOREORS OF SERVITUDE. 45 

for three or four dollars by an Israelite, and sold back to 
her kindred, for one thousand. Indeed, the descendants of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are truly the tigers of specula- 
tion, thirsting for gain, forestalling human misery, and 
bartering Turkish insult and rapacity, for gold. Besides 
the slaves, there is another article of plunder affording the 
prospect of immense profit to the speculator. I refer to the 
jewelry and other valuables which peace and obedience had 
given to Scio. Ornaments of all descriptions, splendid 
costumes, the luxuries of arts, and beautiful articles of fur- 
niture, table-utensils of precious metals ; in short all the 
characteristics of an European city were exposed upon the 
market place. Franks, Armenians and Israelites purchased 
cargoes of Chian ware, some of which they sent to New 
York and other parts of America, as well as to the ports of 
Europe. The symbols of Chian prosperity traveled farther 
than the feet of any of its native owners had, at that time, 
wandered. These testimonies of Chian industry and skill 
ran over the globe as heralds and forerunners of the exiles 
of Scio ! Alas ! it is true that the whole world has received 
an impress of our terrific reverses 1 The seas and the 
ocean have groaned under the sad messages ! If every 
jewel, diamond, and pearl, that once graced the cheek, hand 
and neck of the Chian damsel could have been marked in 
such a manner, as to be always recognized, the Christian 
beauties of Europe and America would surely refuse to 
wear the price of blood and the symbols of woe ! While 
the property of the slaughtered and enslaved is treated in 
this illegal manner, let us examine what is the condition of 
those who are sheltered by consuls, or who are protected 
by flight to Smyrna, Constantinople and other places. Their 
estates are confiscated, and their persons are under sentence 



46 THJB AUTHOR SOLD. 

of death, wherever they pass, throughout the empire ; yet 
many have obtained security onboard the foreign shipping, 
and in some few buildings which enjoy English or French 
protection. Even in these recesses, they are famishing. 
They cannot go into the street, to buy bread without being 
slain by the Turks. This state of siege continues for two 
entire years. During this period they are crowded together 
in small rooms half suffocated, and in that plight subjected 
to the extortions of Franks, Jews and Armenians who spe- 
culate on their misery, charging them exorbitant prices for 
bread, drink, rent and other necessities. Not only the 
Chians were subjected to such calamities, but all the other 
Greeks of Turkey labour under the same horrors inflicted 
by avarice. Imagine the poor Greek parting with his 
rescued jewels, diamond and other valuables for a mere 
trifle to support existence. Imagine the speculations on the 
confiscated estates. The Jews, Armenians and Franks, 
who were previously the poorest wretches of the earth, in 
those parts, were suddenly raised to wealth and prosperity. 
The death of the Greeks gave them life. Travel to the 
Orient at the present time, and see the marks of this hellish 
trade. Look at Constantinople, Smyrna, Thessalonica, 
Trebizond and other places, and ask whence came the pro- 
perty of the native Jews, Armenians and Franks. If they 
do not answer, their walls will echo that they owe their 
prosperity to the spur given to trade by the Greek Revolu- 
tion ; they would feel ashamed to describe the ignominious 
part which they acted in that thrilling scene. It is astonish- 
ing to see the descendants of Sennacherib, no longer de- 
scending like wolves on the Jewish flock, but uniting with 
the Hebrews in speculating on the miseries of the Chians. 
The very nails of Scio, the lead of the interstices of her 



HOHRORS OF SERVITUDE. 47 

undermined walls, the marble of her parlours,- and her 
hospitable hearths celebrated through all the globe, these 
tangible signs of her worth were shipped away, and hawked 
about the world by Armenians, Jews and Franks. Next 
to the Greeks, the children of Mt. Ararat have been called, 
refined and enlightened, but to whom do they owe their 
knowledge and their Christianity ? The answer may be 
read in the labours of the Grecian primitive ecclesiastics. 
The trumpetings of the mere worldly knowledge of a nation 
without charity, are as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. 
The most cutting tone that pierced our broken hearts in 
those days of tribulation, was to hear the sarcastic jeers of 
these three tribes, pointing, with a sneer at the captives, 
destined to be decapitated, and tauntingly prating to the 
hapless Greek, " Liberty, liberty ! Receive your freedom 
from the scimitar 1" The sufferer desired the executioner 
to hasten his death, and deliver him from such taunts. 
However, it is ludicrous to observe how the tables have 
been turned since the establishing of Grecian independence. 
The native Franks and Armenians, traveling abroad, often 
adopt a name that does not belong to them. They palm 
themselves upon the public as Greeks. The important as- 
sociations connected with the Hellenic title of the free, are 
not unknown to the Frank and Armenian. They love to 
invest themselves in the insignia of a citizenship, which not 
long since they considered as destined never to be restored. 
My third master and his two eldest sons with him passed 
the day in excursions of plunder and slaughter. The 
two younger children, of ten and twelve years of age, re- 
mained at home. As few slaves had hitherto been spared 
from death, the family made the best account of my ser- 
vices, and employed me in bringing water from the Pasha's 



48 THE AUTHOR SOLD. 

Fountain, situated without the Citadel. The mistress of 
the house used every argument to induce me to perform 
my task with activity, feigning the deepest sympathy for 
my suffering countrymen. Her hypocritical and ironical 
tone echoed in my heart with melancholy discord. When 
my toils were over, I was commanded to play for the 
amusement of the children. My sport was much like 
work; for I was employed as a horse by those lazy 
urchins, who drove me on all-fours wherever they pleased. 
One day, being ordered to play the prancing charger, I 
bethought myself of a trick to create in them an aversion 
for such laborious pleasure from me. At first, I started off 
like a true Arab steed, I neighed, and pretended, in an in- 
nocent way, to catch the spirit of the beast; I kicked 
under the whip, and threw one of them into a pit full of 
muddy water. The child ran homeward, weeping and 
complaining to its mother, who, in a threatening tone, de- 
manded the reason for such behaviour. The slave replied, 
" If I am a horse, you cannot expect me to go straight 
without a bridle 1" The infuriated dame burst into an in- 
voluntary fit of laughter, by a trait highly characteristic of 
the Turks, who love a good joke. Had it been a poor joke, 
I should have been, perhaps, driven for slaughter, to Bun- 
aky, which I was daily obliged to cross, to get the water- 
jars filled, and where I witnessed daily butchery during my 
stay in this family. 

Their daughter was a beautiful lass, with long dark hair, 
in many braids, hanging loosely over her shoulders. One 
day, returning from the battlements, whither she had gone, 
according to the custom of the Turkish and Jewish ladies, 
to witness the execution of prisoners, she fainted. On re- 
covery, she asked her mother, '• Are they not afraid of God 



HORROHS OF SERVITUDE. 49 

(Allah) for killing so many persons ? What shall we do 
when we are left alone?" The mother replied, "Are they 
not Giaours'? (Giaour deyilmi). Let them be slain to ap- 
pease our prophet." This was a lesson to teach the unso- 
phisticated girl the rudiments of fanaticism, and sharpen 
her taste for bloody exhibitions. A singular coincidence 
with the old Roman character here occurs. The gladiato- 
rial murders were an entertainment to the fair sex of impe- 
rial Rome. A startling parallel to this inhuman trait is the 
passion of the Turkish and Jewish women to behold slaugh- 
ters of individuals, who happen to disbelieve Mohammedan 
superstition. During most of the Greek Revolution, for 
the space of eight years, public and private sports in legal- 
ized crimes of murder, were practised in every city of the 
Ottoman Empire. Captives were often purchased for the 
pleasure of hacking them to pieces. Every Turk felt anx- 
ious to imbrue his hands in Greek blood. The old Roman 
spirit seems to have been allowed a second resurrection in 
a Mussulman embodiment, in order to show that ambition 
and rapacity are the most merciless and shocking agents of 
bloodthirsty tyranny. When will the world arise and pro- 
claim a death-warrant against these unwelcome monsters 
that threaten to extirpate every enlightened and moral sen- 
timent from the human bosom? The thunders of battling 
legions are surrounding Asia, north and south. The bra- 
zen exploding mouth of modern science wings its leaden 
and iron breath, overwhelming thrones and monarchs in 
its course ; Jjut should not those lips of refinement cease 
the trumpet of warlike fury, and subdue their loud notes to 
the gentle whisperings of the still small voice of piety, and 
the potent accents of our incarnate Lord, who bade the 
raging elements, " Peace, be still !" 

We return to the description of the family. — The house 



50 THE AUTHOR SOLD. 

was situated near the Pasha's palace. Its two stories 
might have been subdivided to form five, without inconve- 
nience. The ceiling was gilt, and inscribed with passages 
from the Koran. The spacious carpeted parlour was sur- 
rounded by a shelf loaded with flowers, fruit, and various 
articles. In one of the many closets was preserved with 
great care a splendid manuscript edition of the Koran, which 
they called the Kiutap (Bible.) This only book in the 
family could not be touched by a female, and rarely was 
any one allowed to see it, except the master of the house, who 
was a doctor of Islamism, and as tenacious of his base theolo- 
gical views, as a Christian divine. On opening the Koran, he 
first washed his hands, and reverently raised the book to his 
lips and forehead, and after reading it, locked up the closet, 
and carried away the key. His pious profession, within 
doors, made a striking contrast with his hellish vocation 
without, in slaying the innocent. 

The table (sofra) which appeared only at meals, was a 
large plate of copper, thin and round, lined with tin, and 
ornamented with engraved figures of cypress trees. When 
noon was announced by the prayer of the Imam, in the 
Minaret, dinner was served. The guests sat cross-legged 
on the carpet, and partook not with knife and fork, but with 
the naked fingers from every dish, except the pilaf or rice 
pudding, a favorite dish, for which were furnished, wooden, 
bone and ivory spoons. A copper dish ( janak), lined with 
tin, received the entire repast, and was stationed in the 
middle of the table. The father began, the mother followed, 
and the others dipped their fingers in succession, down to the 
poor slave who always came last, orate alone. At one meal, 
the youngest child was struck with a knife for advancing 
too soon. Their no'.ions on bread were transcendental, be- 



HORRORS OF SERVITUDE. 51 

yond our idea of the staff of life. The Koran itself is not 
more worshipped. If a slice of a roll tumbled upon the 
carpet, they grasped it carefully, and applied to the lips and 
forehead in token of reverence. If crumbs fell, they were 
scrupulously gathered that no person might tread upon that 
which is the essential food of man. Bread* is connected 
with hospitality, a duty which the Turks exhibit, chiefly, 
to their own sect. Much praise has been lavished, by some 
writers on the Koran, in relation to its hospitable precepts. 
A few instances of its being put in practice are recorded. 
Mohammedans are hospitable only to rich persons, from 
whom they require their equivalent peshkesh, without fail. 
Travellers, full of curiosity and money, are objects of pecu- 
liar interest to a Turk ; and they may reside without pay, 
many days at his residence, but if they depart without 
I leaving a valuable gift, they are considered as no gentle- 
: men, and may sufl^er inconvenience from his revenge. A 
poor foreigner among the Turks would die of starvation, 
unless the Christian dog could get assistance from Christian 
( subjects of the Porte. In former times, certain khans, or 
hotels were devoted to a three days gratis entertainment of 
strangers. These buildings were bequeathed to a certain 
company of agents, who held the property only on condi- 
( lion of sustaining the benevolent system intended by the 
i founder. 

I These Khans exist, at present, but during the three days, 
j the peshkesh (present) and the eternal bakshish (drink mo- 
ney) are called for, without reserve. What sort of hospi- 
( tality is that which drives a man from the door of the Khan, 
: if he has no money or valuables to give away to bribe hu- 
I manity. But we enlarge not farther on the Turkish charac- 
ter. The term Turk implies a'meaning far inferior to that 



52 THE MASSACRE AT MELAENA PROMONTORY. 

of savage. The Cherokees and Choctaws are refined, in 
comparison with the Ottoman. Look at the horrible sys- 
tem of torturing to death persons arrested on suspicion, 
still practised in the most enlightened city of Turkey, Smyr- 
na. Read the Smyrna public journals and see the records 
of innocent m'artyrs, whose fate has excited complaints in 
the French Smyrna journals, those eulogists of the Porte. 
What change do you behold in the national traits of these 
demons 1 But pause, they are blinded by a false religion, 
and we are willing to grant that if you take Mahommed out | 
of the heart of the Ottoman, the Turk will no longer be a | 
Turk. Pity the race, ye Christians, and strive to substi- 
tute the kingdom of Heaven for the sway of the scimitar. 

THE MASSACRE AT MELAENA PROMONTORY. 

A few days after my arrival at the house of Soliman Aga, 
several young captives of both sexes were introduced. 
They had been spared from the dreadful carnage at Cape 
Melaena, (also called Cape St. Nicholas.) They related to 
me that event, which I have since learned more particularly, 
from Constantino Psiaces, a young man, one of the sufferers. 
Several thousand Chians had fled to this Cape, awaiting the 
arrival of friendly vessels, which did not appear before the 
fugitives were overtaken by the enemy. Some were slain 
on the land, others in the water, where they were drowned 
or stabbed. The cavalry trampled them down, and the 
foot soldiers hacked them in pieces. The piles of the dead 
sent forth rivulets of blood, which tinged the purple wave 
with a crimson hue, fresh from beauty and pride. Constan- 
tino lying beneath a rock was nearly suffocated by the 
blood, which flowed about his head. He lay several hours 
until evening— stillness and the dewy air announced that 



THE MASSACRE AT MELAENA PROMONTORY. 53 

the sable night was not polluted with the breath of the 
children of darkness. He arose, but could not open his 
eyes, sealed as they were by the clotted blood. To restore 
the natural vision, he tore off his eye-lashes, and as he is 
still among the living, the marks of his sufferings bear wit- 
ness to the truth of his statement. 

During twenty days he ran from cave to cave, support- 
ing himself upon herbs and fruit. From the summits of the 
hills, he often saw Turks disguised in the costume of Greek 
merchants to deceive the refugees; but their deceit was be- 
trayed by their awkward bearing, and when called, their 
broken Greek was not heeded by the incredulous tenant of 
the cavern. His strength was almost exhausted, when he 
had the good fortune to hail an Ipsarian vessel, upon which 
he embarked for continental Greece. His arrival at Athens 
was attended with the most thrilling excitement. The very 
aspect of the Chian sufferers and their feeble, weeping and 
disconsolate voices, were eloquent, with natural arguments, 
which seemed to spring from the shade of Demosthenes to 
urge the Greeks to refuse obedience to the modern tyrant. 
•, - The girls spared from Cape Melaena, related facts too 
horrible for repetition. One of those, at our house, was 
always weeping for her dear father, who was killed in her 
arms. Another mourned the cruel slaughter of her bro- 
ther and sister, whom she embraced while the murderous 
blow was falling. Another was haunted by the recollection 
of her mother, drowned with her infant in her arms. 
These girls had begged as a favour of Osman to purchase 
them that they might not be driven to Asia, assuring him 
that in a few weeks, an ample ransom would be sent by 
rich relatives abroad. The money arrived, and I subse- 
quently met the same ladies in Syra, having been rescued 



54 THE MASSACRE AT MELAENA PROMONTORY. 

by their brother, who had a commercial establishment at 
Trieste. They related that the treatment, which they had 
received from the wife of Osman Aga, was rude in the ex- 
treme. They had been forced to accomplish more difficult 
tasks than the most servile African. The motive of the 
uneasiness felt by the mistress of the house, was jealousy. 
It may perhaps appear strange that a Mussulman lady 
should entertain such sentiments while the Koran allows as 
many inmates of the Harem as the husband can support. 
Odaliks are not wanting ever, when there is but one wife, 
yet the laws of men cannot alter the dictates of nature. 
Jealousy springs up, and its very existence declares that 
only one consort and her spouse ought to rule a family. 

A short description of Osman's wife is an index of the 
prevailing taste of her countrywomen. Her excessive em- 
bonpoint was no hindrance to her activity, in early rising; 
for she awoke the first in the family to smoke the tchiboulc, 
and sip a cup of coffee. The first disturbance to my sleep 
was the clapping of her hands together, and her shout, 
" Oglan," (boy.) Her toilet was a graphic and picturesque 
affair, not for the artist, but for the paint which she lavished 
on her charms. The brush reddened her lips, whitened her 
cheeks here and gave them a rosy tinge there, blackened her 
eyebrows and marked with henna the half of each finger nail. 
One fact is interesting to ladies whose ringlets wear a fiery 
comet-like beauty, christened by poets, golden or auburn for 
euphony. With a taste which the highest imagination « 
might admire, she painted her grey locks with the colour of » 
red. Such is the partiality of the race for flaming tufts ! • 
By a peculiar fondness for unnatural attractions, she dyed t 
her teeth black. Anacreon ranted about ivory teeth, but \ 
some Mussulmen are crazy after the ebon-jawed nymphs. By V 



THE MASSACRE AT MELAENA PKOMONTORY. 55 

a taste common among savages, her forehead was tatooed, 
an artificial embellishment more rarely adopted, since Eu- 
ropean taste has made inroads upon the land of Harems. 
From her neck was suspended a rosary strung with Mah- 
mutie ; a gold coin. In her fess (cap) were a great number 
of pearls, emerald-bracelets adorned her wrists, and she 
held a mouchoir of gold embroidery. 

Her daughter was brought up in the same way, and 
allowed to watch the young men in the street, through the 
lattice. On going abroad, she bandaged all the head ex- 
cept the eyes, nose and half of the ears. The mother never 
remained in the Salamlyk ( saluting room,) unless the visiter 
was a particular friend or relative. Such a plan of female 
exclusion from all social ceremony tends to render the 
Turkish fair sex so ignorant of good taste in their personal 
array. Almost the only show of refinement, which the 
Siforesaid matron displayed, was an abhorrence for long 
finger nails, a subject which she frequently argued with 
much ingenuity. Another propensity was that of excessive 
laughter. When she was most obstreperous in her merri- 
ment, her black teeth gave a midnight shade to her smile, 
like an eclipse of the moon among the stars. Her husband 
caught inspiration from her starry eye and azure cheek, 
and the obscuration of her dental charms, and gave a laugh 
according to their manly custom without smiling and without 
opening the mouth. The contrast was most ludicrous, 
especially whenever the old lady was telling some roguish 
trick, done by the Greek slaves. Osman watched her lips 
and when he saw them widen, the teeth darkling, and the 
breath exploding, in one convulsive fit, he reeled under the 
sight, and shook as by an earthquake ; but his countenance 
made no eruption, and no voice at all except a guttural 



56 the' MASSACRE AT MELAENA PROMONTORY. 



rumbling like that which betokens the compressed feelings 
of a volcano. Perhaps the rebounding of her open laughter 
had the effect to close his mouth, yet by some secret spring 
unknown to physiologists, his risible growls were none the 
less loud and noisy. 

This family were intimate associates of the Pasha, and 
when any of the officials arrived unexpectedly, it was amus- 
ing to see the confusion among the Odaliks of the Harem. 
If they happened to be in the Salamlyk, when the visiters 
came, they hastily drew their veils and ran like rats into 
their receptacles. The sight of a Harem is sepulchral to a 
Christian eye. The veiled and bandaged inmates, quitting 
their retirement to go abroad, look like living mummies 
issuing from the catacombs of error and prejudice. 

The mistress of the house had a parrot under her charge, 
which she declared preferable to me, although it had cost her 
more money. This loquacious bird was indeed quite intel- 
ligent. It spoke the Turkish language, sufficiently to make 
known its wants. Not, however, suspecting that it could 
tell tales, I once took an orange from the forbidden shelf, in 
the absence of the lady, who, soon returning, heard the par- 
rot exclaim distinctly " Mustapha look an orange 1" (Mus- 
tapha portocal aldee). I met with a scolding through its 
means. The parrot could not have originated an idea, but 
had been taught to attribute to the slave every orange and 
other article which they pilfered in her absence. This ex- 
pression was perhaps an accidental coincidence. From 
that day, thinking, really, that Dudoo, as they called the 
parrot, was an informer, I never did any similar mischief 
without placing the cage, covered with a shawl in the clo- 
set. The severity of my mistress might not perhaps be 
attributed to ill-will, but rather to superstition. The Turks 






THE MASSACRE AT MELAEJfA PROMONTORY. 57 

cherish a fear of dark eyes and large eye-brows, to which 
they assign, very unreasonably, a power of charnrring. To 
prevent sorcery, I was condemned to Ihe frequent repetition 
of Mashallah ! (Great is God !) The injunction was to pro- 
nounce it before any beautiful object or person that I ad- 
mired or orally praised. Once a little boy, celebrated for 
beauty, met a fall, and the circumstance was charged to the 
evil eye. I was summoned to shout Mashallah. 

One day Mustapha had unreasonable cause for alarm, 
when his master, in a mysterious manner, proceeded to per- 
form on him a religious ceremony. As preparation for 
conversion to their faith and a security against the wiles of 
Satan, a square amulet was attached to the crown of Mus- 
tapha's fez, (red cap). Not understanding the operation, 
he twinged as if some terrible fate was awaiting him. Great 
relief was felt on learning that this preliminary was prac- 
tised before sending the Christian lads to their school, as a 
preparatory step. The Turkish amulets are formed like 
a square or triangle, or often like two crossed triangles, the 
point of one on the base of the other, which last is their 
symbol. Upon them, I think, is inscribed the name of the 
person, and the sign of the blessing of the Dervish. Once 
when I had the head-ache, the Dervish, my teacher, wrote 
a few words on a piece of paper, and gave it to me to put 
under my pillow. The Munetchimi (Astrologers) and the 
Munetchimbashee (chief magician) act in the public affairs 
of the Porte, the part of the Oracular Pagan Priests of an- 
tiquity, and are consulted in all political movements. The 
soothsayers, by fabricating the amulets, and selling them to 
the credulous, obtained a great revenue. Their peculiar 
talismanic virtue was that of preserving the wearer from 
all dangers. During the Greek Revolution, a great number 
5 



58 DERVISHES AND TURKISH SCHOOL. 

of amulets were found on the carcases of the Turks, by 
their victors. Some were square, and others composed of 
a ribbon, three inches in breadth, fifteen yards long, and 
entirely covered with inscriptions. Many slaves were forc- 
ed to embrace Islamism, but Mustapha was reserved for a 
subsequent epoch. On receiving a proselyte, the priest ex- 
claimed " He has come to the true faith," (Din islama ghel- 
mish.) According to the Koran, (article 16th), "Each 
child is born with the character of Islamism ; his parents 
are those who force him to Judaism, Christianity, or Pagan- 
ism." The ingenious Mahommed employed similar sophis- 
try to distort and deform the growing reason of youth. 

DERVISHES AND TURKISH SCHOOL. 

Mustapha was sent to school with the other slaves. The 
first procedure in this institution, was to repeat in Arabic, 
the creed, " There is no God but God, and Mahommed is 
the Prophet of his religion." (La-illah, illallah, ve Mo- 
hammed Resool Oolah). The schoolmaster was a Dervish 
(monk) eighty-five years of age, with a long beard, grave 
countenance and kind disposition. We digress to describe 
the various orders of Dervishes. The Meolevis are Mate- 
rialists ; the Bektashis respect Jesus Christ, and the Twelve 
Apostles; the Zerrins, the Holy Virgin ; and in fine, each 
community has a religious constitution, secret, peculiar, and 
contrary to the common dogmas. 

Mustapha and the other scholars were forced to engage 
in the general devotion, at morning, noon and sunset, when 
we were directed to wash our hands, arms and feet, and 
pray. The lads, however, would often say the prayers of 
the Greek Church, taking advantage of his partial deafness. 
We were informed, as an incentive, to study the Turkish 



DERVISHES AND TURKISH SCHOOL. 59 

language, that the knowledge of Muslu-imanje (true faith 
speech) places one above the fear of God. (Muslu-imanje 
bilen, allahdan korkmas). This precept, uttered by the 
Ottoman with delight, is an index of his deadly hostility to 
other nations. 

Another startling maxim, inculcated by the Dervish, was 
" Whoever is not a Musulman is not a man." (Muslu-iman 
olmeyan, adam olmaz.) Thus limited is their idea of hu- 
man nature ! The word by which the others, bearing man's 
image are designated, is ghiaour, which means, not infidel, 
as is commonly supposed, but one who has the faith of an 
oxj if the ox has any faith. In that style, other nations are 
ranked with animals, the Christians being called dogs. The 
Turks also take the title of Musselim, (Orthodox) and de- 
nominated the followers of other creeds, Kiafir (Blasphe- 
mers). In former days, the standard of any European 
power was called, not flag, (sanjak), but rag, (patchavoor). 

You can hardly imagine how ludicrous was the mode of 
teaching adopted by the Dervish, who was rather deaf and 
very infirm. Our room was much like a prison; the heated 
air within was almost suffocating ; and the windows were 
protected by an iron grating to prevent the escape of the 
urchins. We sat a la Turque on mats, reading our lessons 
at once with a see-saw motion of the body, and the highest 
pitch of the voice. Some of the lads ventured to sing as 
an amusement to our misery. The half dead and sleepy 
Dervish was too insensible to detect all our irregularity. 
To give you an idea of our progress, we spent a month in 
learning the alphabet, which we knew the first lesson, but 
made mistakes on purpose to delay our advancement in 
the rudiments of our tyrants. For curiosity, we quote the 
games of the letters which v/s shouted, and represent then. 



60 GREEK HUNT. 

by English sounds, •* elif, bay, tay, thay, jim, ha, dal, zel, 
re, ze, zhe, sin, shin, sat, dat, ti, zi, ine, gine, fay, kaf, kef, 
lam, mem, noon, vav, hay, lamelif, yay." 

As familiarity breeds contempt, the lenity of the Dervish 
was returned by a joke, which might have proved serious. 
He was accustomed to lie upon a plank to take a forenoon 
nap. One day, during his sleep, one of the oldest lads took 
sealing wax with a lighted taper, and sealed his long beard 
to the rough board. When noon was announced from the 
Minaret, the Dervish suddenly raising his head uttered a 
cry of pain, as the act bereft him of a portion of his sancti- 
monious beard. The scholars were summoned to proclaim 
the perpetrator of the trick, that he might be decapitated. 
They refused and were all thrown into prison. But the 
obstreperous yells of the lads created such disturbance in 
the neighbourhood that the Turks relenting rushed in and 
drove us all out like a flock of sheep, and told us to go 
home and behave better, after a sound drubbing. 

The present sketches would have been stripped of the 
ludicrous associations, had the author chosen his own 
course. But there is as much reason for discarding the 
solemnity as the lightness, necessarily connected with 
events of thrilling importance. In the worst of our mis- 
fortunes, a smile and a joke sometimes intruded. A Ther- 
sites, like that of Homer, stood ready to laugh or to create 
laughter. 

GREEK HUNT. 

The scene that now opens in this drama of triumphant 
barbarism, is truly gloomy. The twenty-four mastic vil- 
ages and the consulates are the only Christian portion of 
the island free from the ravages of fire and sword. All 



GREEK HUNT. 61 

else is black with smoke and red with blood. The work of 
death still continues, but the victims now come from a dif- 
ferent quarter, with greater efforts and by worse treachery. 
Bloodhounds are employed by the Turks to ferret out the 
fugitives in the caves and cliffs. The Jews also assist in 
finding and slaying the innocent Chians. Some captives 
are spared to act as guides under pain of death. 

If swarms of flies are seen issuing from the shrubbery, 
the concealment of several families is suspected. Guns are 
fired in that direction, until the wounded scream or come 
out, blinded by a long deprivation of light, and almost un- 
able to walk. When other means fail, the bloodhound 
detects what the Jew and Turk cannot. The fugitives, 
attacked by the animal, run forth from their caverns and 
are immediately slaughtered, or led to the citadel to be pub- 
licly executed for the delight of Turkish and Jewish ladies. 
Since the massacre, I have learned from one of those 
refugees, that into the cave, in which he lay with several 
families, a bloodhound entered, which, in his despair, he 
strangled to death. The Turks, thinking it had strayed 
elsewhere, relinquished their search. Thus, almost by 
accident, a few Chians were fostered and preserved in the 
bosom of nature ! Thus did the creation of God reveal in 
the depths of the ground the unseen Providence of our 
Eternal Protector. 

The sight of so much iniquitous destruction of life begins, 
to haunt the mind and conjure up to the conscience the 
phantoms of remorse. The dames who witness the mur- 
ders by day with a smile, dare not walk forth by night for 
fear of ghosts ! One Turkish mansion has been entirely 
abandoned by its inmates, for the murder perpetrated by 
the occupants on two captives butchered for amusement. 



62 THE CONSULS TOOLS OP TURKISH TREACHERY, 

The reason given by the females for quitting their abode, 
was that the blood of the slain cried from the ground. S<|m 
inconsistent is woman, when her heart is wrong 1 A^ 

• - Upon the sea coast many fugitives are discovered behind \ 
rocks, lying many days partly immersed in water. But 
the Greek Admiral Tombasis luckily arrived in season and 
rescued many souls. Even the refugees among the twenty- 
four inviolable mastic villages are detected. These villagers 
have afforded protection to many of their countrymen of 
the other villages, by concealing them in their houses and 
by clothing them in their own singular costume. Never- 
theless, Turkish supiddty prompted by Jewish craftiness can 
distinguish them. By the softness of the hands and face, 
smallness of the foot, and other traits, many a Chian of 
high rank was detected among the mastic villagers. 

One of my cousins, with her daughter, had been con- 
cealed in a cellar. They were placed (as she herself as- 
sured me after her being ransomed,) in one of the large 
earthen vessels imbedded in the ground, and destined for 
the preservation of fruit. When the cellar was searched, 
the Utile child with a sob of terror betrayed herself. The 
mother knowing it, immediately gave herself up. The 
vengeance of the soldiers was fatal to the owner of the 
dwelling. 

THE CONSULS TOOLS OF TURKISH TRKACHERY. 

The admiral-in-chief of the Sublime Porte, despairing of ^, 
extirpating the Chians by Turks, Jews and bloodhounds, 
planned an unparalleled artifice. He convoked the European 
consuls, and requested them to go abroad and proclaim the 
cessation of carnage to all Chians and invite them from 
their hiding place, to return to their city and villages. Un- 



THE CONSULS TOOLS OF TURKISH TREACHERY. 63 

happily, the consuls accepted the treacherous function, and 
bearing their flags roamed over the whole island to every 
cave and rock, mountain and every steep, and trumpeting 
the clemency of the Mussulmans. When the refugees be- 
held the insignia of revered royalty, and the flags of Euro- 
pean powers, they left their recesses, cheered by the false 
hope that they should be spared, at least from m.assacre. 

They trusted more in the promises of the plenipotentiaries 
of Christendom than in the assurances of the admiral. 
Confiding in these solemn engagements, all the refugees, 
except those on the north came from their retreat, and sent 
seven hundred of their primates to fall at the feet of the 
admiral. They all expected that the work of slaughter 
would cease; but that very night the admiral hanged the 
seven hundred primates to the j^ard-arms of the fleet, and 
gave the signal for the massacre of all who had surrendered 
their lives and property. They entered the Monastery of 
St. Mina, out of which they drove five thousand peasants 
whom they put to the sword. Some of the sculls of these 
peasants marked by rude blows have been carried by 
travelers even to America to proclaim in tangible charac- 
ters the treachery of Turks and their European accom- 
plices."* The Monastery of Nea Mone, built by Constan- 
tino the monomarch became the tomb of two thousand three 
hundred Christians. 

Great God 1 What terrible events ! Religion and huma- 
nity shudder at the recital of so many horrors. Among the 
different deaths there is gradation in the terror which they 
inspire ; some can be awaited with resignation, others can 
shake the firmest courage ; but the Chians, in beholding 

* One of these sculls is in the keeping of Dr. Warren, of Boston. 



64 THE CONSULS TOOLS OF TURKISH TREACHERY. 

the total ruin of their country, died a thousand deaths be- 
fore the death-stroke. 

To close the scene, listen to those young captives led to 
slaughter, passing in front of the European consulates. 
What do they say, while they seize convulsively their gates ? 
" Do you not fear God after betraying us ?" 

But the admiral has no longer any need of the consuls 
who have been his tools and laughing stock. He leaves 
them alone with their unexerted power of saving. No com- 
plaint is made by the consuls to their respective govern- 
ments ; and the inference is clear that their interference 
was hypocritical. The admiral can now exhibit the Turk- 
ish character in all its cruelty, since he is certain that 
Christian Europe will not turn on its heels to save Christian 
Scio. 

He proceeds, before their eyes, to sport with horrors, in 
a scene, which was acted in defiance of their power, and 
which they witnessed, as a catastrophe of a thrilling drama. 
He immolates the most innocent human beings. The little 
children that remain are piled into an immense boat, floated 
u suitable distance from shore, and sunk in the waves ! 

The admiral no longer needed the hostages, who had been 
given up a year before, as security for the general submis- 
sion. May 4th, 1822, the Archbishop Plato, with fifty-five 
others were led forth. For the sake of the novelty of a 
wholesale execution, scaffolds were erected that all might 
perish simultaneously. The Jews figured in dragging the 
carcases to the sea with every demonstration of contempt. 
Such was the victory of Turks over the living! Such was 
the triumph of Jews over the dead ! 

The behavior of the victims, before death, was Christian- 
like. They walked with alacrity to the scaffold, and died 



THE CONSULS TOOLS OF TURKISH TREACHERY. 65 

without a murmur. The transparent whiteness of their 
faces after death was an image of their inward purity. 
Those men formed the heart of our community. When they 
perished, the lovely shade of Scio knelt at the feet of the 
tyrant, and in the phrenzy of her grief, begged him to gaze 
on her, and gratify his soul with a sight which he should 
never see again. She bids him adieu, and says, 

".When war has thundered with its loudest storms. 
Death thou hast seen in all his ghastly forms ; 
In duel met him on the listed ground, 
When hand to hand, they wound, returned for wound ; 
But never have thy eyes astonished, viewed 
So vile a deed, so dire a scene of blood ! 
E'en in the flow of joy, when now the bowl 
Glows in our veins, and opens every soul, 
We groan, we faint; with blood the dome is dyed, 
And o'er the pavement floats the dreadful tide — 
Her breast all gore, with lamentable cries 
The bleeding, innocent *Aethalia dies !" 

At this period, I was sorry to learn that I had been pur- 
chased in exchange for another slave and ten dollars, by 
an executioner (Jelat) named Delhi Muslapha or Mustapha 
Effendi, a rich native of Aleppo, whither he had already 
dispatched with the caravan, by way of Smyrna, twelve 
female captives. His vocation made me shudder, and his 
title of Delhi, which means Fool, excited my fear of falling 
under a fit of his lunacy. Delhi, however, by metonomy 
answers to brave and daring, as if he possessed an insane 
indifference to peril. This use of the term is common. It 
was once given to an American from Vermont, while in 
the Greek service. From water-carrier, as I had been, I 

* Aethalia, another name of Scio. 



66 THE CONSULS TOOLS OP TURKISH TREAGHERy. 

became pipe-carrier (tchibouk-oglan.) This promotion en- 
couraged the Greek slave with the prospect of bettering his 
condition. 

Our residence was a large fire-proof edifice without the 
citadel, opposite the new Pasha's marble fountain, in full 
view of Bunaky. 

My master was over six feet in height with huge eye- 
brows, blood-shot eyes, and long black beard, with a stately 
form and dignified bearing. But his disposition was fero- 
cious in the extreme, and exasperated by a sickness, which 
prevented him from going abroad to try his scimitar. Hav- 
ing been once executioner to the Pasha, he possessed such 
a passion for destroying human life, that he was uneasy 
without an opportunity for the exercise of his deadly talent. 
He sent a request to the soldiers, to obtain two of the pea- 
sants, who were destined to be slain. They were accord- 
ingly led bound into his garden, where he met them, and 
glutted his rage by beheading them, and leaving their 
corpses to be dragged away by the Israelites. Such an 
inhuman scene, in a tragedy or romance, would appear un- 
natural, but in reality there are many occurrences which 
could enter no imagination except that of the perpetrators 
of such crimes. 

My master Delhi Mustapha was excessively cruel to the 
slaves in his house. 

The business of my companion, a lad, (resident at Bron- 
tados, before his captivity,) was to make the coffee, and fill 
an ibrik or copper vessel with water, at the hour of prayer, 
to wait upon him to wash his hands, feet, &c. As for me, 
I was provided with a tutun kesesee (tobacco-sack,) and sta- 
tioned in a corner of the room, with my hands crossed, to 
await orders, with my eyes always directed towards Delhi 



THE CONSULS TOOLS OF TURKISH TREACHERY. 67 

Mustapha. His cherry tchibouk (pipe) was about six feet 
long ; its bowl (loola) earthen and gilt, with a wet sponge 
between it and the tube, through which the smoke passed ; 
and his mouth-piece (imame) of yellow amber, surrounded 
by gold rings and emeralds, and not less than five inches 
16ng. The mouth-piece cost $50. The skill in filling it 
consisted in giving the sponge the proper moisture, and 
placing the coal in the exact centre. On presenting the 
tchibouk, I held it in my right hand, and paced the floor as 
gracefully as possible, and offered it kneeling, placing my 
left hand upon my bosom. To inspire promptness, he pro- 
nounced energetically the word arslan-ghibee ! (lion-like !) ; 
I was often troubled sportingly by a Caraghiuz or Turk- 
ish jester (literally black-eyed,) who wore a cap made of a 
I fox's skin, from which tails of the same animal were hang- 
( ing. The jester often performs the office of a drummer in 
' battle, wearing besides arms, a distinctive weapon, the 
I hatchet in the girdle. The aforesaid Caraghiuz often 
I frightened me by shaking his foxtails in my face, and ma- 
I king strange gestures. One day he delayed my duties ; 
; Delhi Mustapha had finished one Tchibouk and was wait- 
I ing for the other, which 1 brought a few minutes too late. 
He seized his scimitar. I ran out crying for mercy. A 
I friendly Turk, however, succeeded in calming his anger. 
My companion who was not always fortunate enough to 
j make the coffee foam, was very severely treated. This 
f Cretan lad of seventeen years of age possessed a precocious 
( courage, and a spirit of war, like that of Mt. Ida, which 
' gave him birth. 

I His great personal beauty made him a choice slave, and 

I was perhaps the cause of his being spared. Not brooking 

the ill-nature of his master he often told him that he prefer- 



68 THE CONSULS TOOLS OF TURKISH TREACHERY. 

red death to tyranny. When he saw the peril which I had 
run, he meditated vengeance and an escape. 

Delhi Mustapha had postponed his departure for Syria, 
on account of illness, caused I think by excessive smoking. 
My companion and I were anxious to improve the interven- 
ing time in planning our deliverance. He was not educated 
and was much inspired by my conversation on the glory of 
our forefathers ; I did not tell him that the great modern law- 
givers and statesmen of Europe and America look back to 
his island for the origin of a free government, for I did 
not know that myself at that time. He reflected some- 
time and finally reported to me his plan of escape, 
assuring me that he could bear tyranny no longer, " for it 
were better to die at once than to suffer daily outrage;" and 
added, " will you take an oath by the Holy Virgin to keep 
this wholly secret 1" I assented. 

As it was stormy weather, we agreed to leave the house 
that very night and seek refuge in the Consulates. We 
had been living with Mustapha in such continual apprehen- 
sion of perishing under that scimitar, which he used with 
such disregard of common mercy, that we considered no 
peril superior to his presence. 

On the evening chosen for our plan, my comrade receiv- 
ed a blow from the back of a Yatagan by the hand of 
Mustapha. The stroke was so severe that the sufferer could 
hardly withhold an expression of anger. The simple ex- 
cuse for this cruelty was that the coffee had no foam. 
That same night, after giving Mustapha the Opium, ordered 
by the physician Domenico, a Sciote Roman Catholic, to 
induce sleep, my companion came to my bed and called me 
without the door. Then caressing me most fondly, he whis- 
pered, " Christopher, light of my eyes, will you follow me? 



THE CONSULS TOOLS OP TURKISH TREACHERY. 69 

I answered in the affirmative. Telling me to wait a mo- 
ment, he ascended the staircase, and did what I scarcely 
suspected. We had no time to lose. The midnight Ezan 
had been given from the Minaret, and announced the true 
devotees of their Prophet to prayers. We rushed through 
the darkness, the rain, and the wind, and crossed Bunaky, 
the most dangerous place, without detection, and then tra- 
versed field after field, until we reached the English Consu- 
late. We leaped over the outside gate and knocked at the 
door, where my mother was sheltered, as we have already 
mentioned. She opened, and embracing me with extacy, 
raised her hands towards Heaven and in a low voice uttered, 
" Great art thou, oh God, who canst deliver us from the 
sons of Agar. The Cretan exhibited the dagger which he 
I held naked and said, " Here is the token of revenge and 
' pledge of deliverance." My mother trembling whisper- 
ed earnestly, " Bury it, my son, bury it, and say no more 
' about it, for God's sake." She conducted us within, and 
I you can imagine how happy were my brothers and sisters, 
I in seeing again one whom they considered as lost. We 
\ were kept here two whole weeks unknown to the English 
! Consul. 

The above mentioned youth had been hunted in a cave, 
where he was sheltered with his relatives; when he was cap- 
tured, he saw his sister killed by the inhuman Mustapha in a 
dispute with another chief. 

When they were near the city they began to divide 
the spoil. My master and the other chief did not agree in 
the division of their illgotten goods. He used his utmost to 
obtain the maiden and to present her to the Pasha, but he 
could not for the other claimed her. Mustapha exaspera- 
ted grasped the unfortunate girl by her dishevelled hair, and 



70 THE CONSrLS TOOLS OF TUEKISH TREACHERY. 

exclaimed, holding a naked sword in his hand, "Mohammed- 
ans, we are about shedding Mohammedan blood, for the 
charms of an infidel woman; I separate the dispute;" thus he 
spoke and then he beheaded her. 



THE PESTILENCE. 71 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE PESTILENCE. 



I am no longer in a Turkish Konak under the name of 
Mustapha given by the tyrants, but resuming my christian 
title of Christopher, in the presence of my mother, though 
caged. 

Our prison-like abode was a stable in the lower story of 
the English Consul's house, facing his olive-press. Several 
families were crowded in this den, almost in a state of suffo- 
cation, in perfect chaotic darkness. These human beings 
driven from their palaces to become fellow tenants of the 
beast, were situated like the flock pressed, together without 
ceremony and often reclining one against the other for want 
of room. So little communication had we with the outer air, 
that we were forbidden to breathe it, except through a small 
loop-hole, which was generally closed. The principal 
amusement of our well paid keepers was to come below, 
from their saloons of pleasure, to our cave of distress, and 
frighten us by saying, that the Turks intended to search 
the Consulate, and kill the refugees, in spite of the English 
flag. In that manner we were tormented not only by real, 
but by fictitious menaces besides the tortures inflicted by 
such pitiable confinement. 

John Giudice the English Consul, was a light-complex- 
ioned, red-haired man of great age and youthful appearance. 
Rising from an obscure family of the native Franks of Scio, 
he buffeted successfully the billows of life, and after a voy- 



72 THE PESTILENCE. 

age to Europe reached the Consular dignity. Miss Franca, 
an heiress born in the city of Scio secured his hand in wed- 
lock but subsequently died without issue. As a rich widower, 
he commanded high esteem, but turned his attentions to 
beauty, and chose for his new consort the belle of Scio, 
Miss Plumuca of poor connexions but natural attractions. 
His residence at the village of Livadia was on a command- 
ing site. The English flag fluttered in view of almost the 
whole extent of the Straits of Scio, telescoped a small por- 
tion of Samos, saw far into Asia, among the precipitous 
ridges of Mt. Minas, and overlooked the Citadel and City 
of Scio and the fairest part of the island. His field joined 
the vineyard of my father's countryseat, separated only by 
a stone wall. My brother has lately, since my arrival in 
America, informed me, that the English flag has been remo- 
ved from the disgraceful roof of that dignitary. Truly he 
was not worthy of representing such a great nation. 

At last we were permitted to issue from our hiding place 
and walk about the orange grove but not to wander abroad. 
To avoid insult from the Turks we were obliged to adopt 
the European costume. But it was impossible to wear it in 
a manner to deceive the Mussulmans. We could not man- 
age our new attire without Greekising it, to bring it within 
the bounds of convenience. The men could not wear the 
hats without the laughable necessity of placing first the 
Greek cap to prevent the hat from slipping off, Tlie stupid 
Turks wondering at the singular combination of costumes, 
inquired to what nation we belonged. On learning that wa 
were the people of the English consul they exclaimed 
*' What a large family he has !" Let us turn our eyes from 
our own miseries, and look at the terrible sufferings inflicted 
on the Moslems by the vengeance of Heaven. 



THE PESTILENCE. 73 

A pestilence has assailed the murderers and their accom- 
plices. The unwarranted destruction of palaces and man- 
sions has forced the invaders to assemble in such numbers 
in their own abodes and fortifications, that an infection has 
spread with frightful rapidity. The air is tainted by the 
effluvia arising from unburied carcasses over the whole 
island from cave to cave, from rock to rock, and from shore 
to shore. Formerly fragrance was wafted on the wings of 
the zephyr to greet the advancing voyager with a sweet 
welcome, but now a deadly breath invades the passing ship, 
and frightens the mariner with the odor of Turkish retri- 
bution. The glorious day-star shorn of half his beams 
looked angrily from his celestial course and called forth the 
noxious vapors to assail the vitals of the impious and sacri- 
legious polluters of his Apollonic institutions. Recalling 
his reverent Chian bard, Phoebus veiled his dazzling brow 
in the ghastly melancholy and dropped the tears of dewy 
sympathy upon the smoky ruins of the home of his most 
faithful votaries. He heard a voice, not that of the old 
Chryses, the priest, invoking his revenge for an insult, but 
the cries from the ground, where a thousand priests of Scio 
lay weltering in the blood of their universal tomb. The 
sultry days of Apollo's triumph arrived. Seizing the arrows 
of pestilence, he fills his quiver with the unerring missiles 
of death, and hastens to show the superiority of one God- 
like attribute to the united rage and cruelty of the myriads 
of human demons. Triumphant murderers and plunderers 
trembled at his approach. Homer bursts from his tomb. 
The ghost of the Chian man like a martyr shade of Scio, 
interceded to the Deity, standing on the site of his ancient 
shrine. 

"The trembling Bard along the shore return'd 
And in the anguish of a father mourned. 
6 



74 THE PESTILENCE. 

Till, there at distance, to his God, he prays 
The God who darts around the world his rays. 
O SmintheusI sprung from fair Latona's line 
Thou guardian power of Cilia, the divine, 
Thou source of light ! whom Tenedos adores 
And whose bright presence gilds Aelhalia's shores, 
If e'er with wreaths I hung thy sacred fane. 
Or fed the flames with fat of oxen slain ; 
God of the silver bow ! thy shafts employ, 
Avenge thy servant and the foes destroy." 

" Thus Homer prayed, the favouring power attends, 
And from Olympus's lofty tops descends. 
Bent was his bow, the Moslem hearts to wound ; 
Fierce as he moved, his silver shafts resound. 
Breathing revenge, a sudden night he spread. 
And gloomy darkness rolled around his head. 
The Fleet in view, he twanged his deadly bow, 
And hissing fly the feathered fates below. 
On mules and dogs, Ih' infection first began ; 
And last the vengeful arrows fixed in man." 

This practical illustration of the pestilence by adapting 
the office of Chryses to the shade of Homer, interceding 
for his home, needs but a few facts to corroborate the ex- 
actness of the description. The very ground seemed to 
breathe a Stygian blast of ruin, maddening the flock to the 
terror of the wolf, driving the frantic steed foaming with 
dying insanity, and winging the arrows of death to the 
vitals of the mules and dogs. Man reeled under the pesti- 
ferous assault and fell in thicker ranks than his slaufrhterinor 
legions had mowed. The Musulman had sported like the 
tiger with his victims before slaying them, but the Deity of 
the Plague sent them writhing with prolonged pain and re- 
morse to the valley of the shadow of death. So frequent 
were the deaths that there was no time to perform the neces- 



WABLIKE BAGE OF ANIMALS. 75 

sary ablutions upon the corpse, leaving the soul unprepared 
for its own Heaven. 

A capital burlesque series of incidents followed the un- 
reasonable murders practised by the Turks, calculated to 
bring into startling contrast the character of our invaders 
with that of the beasts, in which we find a perfectly cor- 
responding counterpart. Perhaps, what we shall detail, will 
throw light on Homer's battle of the frogs and mice. 



WARLIKE RAGE OF ANIilALS DURING THE PESTILENCE. 

The Batrachomyomachia, or the battle of the frogs and 
mice, by Homer, is generally regarded as fanciful. But 
what I propose to relate is not romance but fact. It is a 
I result of ruin and pestilence. A novel war was waged by 
I the cats that stormed the citadel and the consulates in search 
' of food. Driven by the conflagration of a city and 64 vil- 
lages, from their retreats, and reduced to starvation, they 
I fed first on the unburied corpses of Greeks and Turks, un- 
I til putrefaction destroyed this food, and then they roamed 
abroad at noon-day among the survivors of plague and war? 
I to gratify their ravenous hunger. In a large city like 
i Chios, one can easily fancy what myriads of cats, a general 
I conflagration would reveal. Being on an island they could 
' not escape. Having no home they mewed piteously and 
I assailed fearlessly their enemies, the Turks. As for their 
I other foes, the rats were at present in the fields where they 
j lived in the neglected grain. The infection of the carrion 
< of human carcasses, drove the cats to madness. A sort of 
i hydrophobia seized them and rendered their bite poisonous, 
j Hostilities were opened for their extermination. The Eng» 
lisl^ consul endeavoured to route them by the aid of the 



76 WARLIKE RAGE OE ANIMALS 

II 

refugees. The Greek lads were formed into phalanxes, and ■ • 
ordered to assail the invaders. From my expertness in 
cat-catching, I was chosen captain of the puerile host. My 
troops being levied, I gave my orders with firmness, and 
led my juvenile heroes to the onset. We retained our pre- 
sence of mind, and broke through the thick array of the 
strong legions of catdom. With clubs and spits, we charged 
home upon the feline forces, and sprinkled the consulate 
with their blood. The storming of the pantry succeeded. 
We smote their catships hip and thigh with great slaughter. 
We next met them in the garden where we completed our 
victory, and drove the remnant over the wall. Our glory 
was of short duration. By night a cat made formidable 
depredations in t\\e consul's cheese. The next day I was 
offered a piastre (forty paras, about five cents,) to slay that 
marauder, and iniquitous night-walker. This was double 
the bounty given for a common cat. We ran to the onset 
among the cheeses, where we encountered, first a detach- 
ment of kittens, apparently intended as a sort of militia to 
cover the advance of the veterans. We gave them a warm 
reception. They bit at us, but our flowing tunics acted as 
armor against their teeth. We rioted in the strife, slaugh- 
tered the kittens and drove the cats into the yard. They 
made a stand headed by the above-mentioned gigantic cat, 
which I selected as a worthy antagonist. On seeing the 
two generals in hostile conjunction, both armies relaxed 
their fury to view the duel. His teeth chattered furiously 
and tore my tunic, before I could bring my club to bear. 
As luck would have it, I stunned him by a blow, and then 
drawing my spit from its reed-scabbard, charged upon him, 
sending its point deep into the head of the cheese-plunderer. 
The cats at this crisis, rushed forward en masse, throwing 



DURING THE PESTILENCE. 77 

themselves over the body of their slain chief. With my 
club I threshed them, while my urchin soldiers also set to. 
We surrounded the foes, and, after considerable hard fight- 
ing, overcame them. Few escaped. Our bounty was an 
important sum for mere lads, without reckoning the applause 
from the multitude thronging the balconies. The surviving 
cats desisted from further depredation, and joined their 
forces with the packs of dogs that frequented the meat- 
market for food. The Turks, being peculiar friends of the 
canine race, were displeased that the feline tribe should par- 
take of the meat reserved for the hounds. The cats frater- 
nized with the dogs and shared their banquet. A secret 
conspiracy was going on between catdom and dogdom, 
against the Turks. Before this collusion had excited sus- 
picion, a new enemy advanced against granaries and pan- 
tries. The rats had commenced their campaign. Hitherto 
they had foraged in the neglected crops. Having grown 
corpulent, and thus the more irritable at the absence of food, 
they formed the desperate plan of scaling the citadel. Meet- 
ing with some opposition, they climbed over the battlements, 
and occupied the area of the fortress to the centre of Turk- 
town. The Osmanlies were troubled by rats. The mice 
entered every crevice and under cover of the night, devoured 
even the bread that the soldiery had concealed about their 
persons. Noses were bitten, but amid the darkness, re. 
venge was impossible. Cats and dogs remained in a per- 
fect state of neutrality. The corpulent rats were a match 
for their meagre natural foes. The numbers of the rats also 
put canine and feline bravery to a non plus. As morning 
dawned the soldiery fired upon the rat-forces. Their mus- 
kets were charged with sand and pebbles to make a scatter- 
ing among them. The carnage was so terrible during the 



78 WARLIKE RAGE OF ANIMALS 

forenoon, that the rats fled blinded by sunlight. Sneaking 
into holes, they awaited the approach of night to renew the 
assault. The Turks, fearing them, took the precaution to 
station traps at every entrance. All the soldiery were de- 
fended by a rampart of mousetraps behind which they hoped 
to pass the night in security. Midnight came with its host 
of disturbers. The traps afforded a considerable check to 
the onslaught, but only through part of the night. Many 
noses were bitten as before. At day-break, the soldiers, 
like desperadoes, discharged pebbles from their guns and 
made a simultaneous rush, backed by cats and dogs. The 
rats and mice undismayed ran between the feet of the ene- 
my and attempted to gnaw their shins. At this critical 
period, aid was asked, and the Jews and Armenians formed 
a holy alliance with the Turks. This recruit turned the 
fortune of the day against the rats, and forced them to aban- 
don the field. The yells of the Turks, the howling of Jews 
and Armenians, the voice of the animals and the clatter of 
musketry formed an orchestra of the most comico-tragic 
tones imaginable. On the slaughtered ranks, the cats and 
dogs catered for each other and ratified their alliance. This 
important victory was a mere prelude to a great calamity. 
The cats and dogs broke out in open conspiracy, against 
their lawful masters. Puppies, in which Turks as compa- 
nions delighted, revolted, and became dangerous. Assailed 
by a sort of hydrophobia caused by the excessive hot wea- 
ther, and the eating of carrion, they scattered the Turks 
like sheep. The life of a dog is sacred by the laws of Islam- 
ism. To evade this superstitious rule, Jews "were pressed 
into the service of dog-killing. The Israelites were ready 
to do all the dirty work which the Turks required of them. 
They advanced with fire-arms and exhibited very dogged 



DURIKG THE PESTILENCE. 79 

bravery. The hounds were laid heaps upon heaps by the 
modern Samsons. A great victory was gained by the 
Hebrews over their canine tyrants. The Turks being rid 
of the beasts, ordered the Jews to act as the sextons of the 
dogs. So this peculiar people obediently threw the bodies 
into [the sea, having first stripped off the hide for drum 
heads. After this work, the Jews were obliged to remove 
the heaps of the feline and ratine dead. Baskets were filled 
with the nauseous victims of Jewish bravery, and emptied 
into the sea. Such of the feline and canine races as sur- 
vived, fled to the consulates, but could not gain admission. 
At the head of my army of boys, I engaged in skirmishes 
against these animals and came off victorious. Many mules 
and steeds were still running wild and endangering life, 
but the muskets of the Turks dispatched them at last. 

The Musulmans, having been troubled by animals and 
carrion-flies, began to be haunted by phantoms of remorse. 
The ghosts of captives thrown over the battlements, or but- 
chered within the citadel appearing to them in dreams, 
often drove them from the mansions which they occupied. 
The Moslem women imagined that, by night, the fairies held 
a dancing choir with the souls of the slain, leading their 
ring around the citadel. 

The pestilence and its consequences, were not the only 
retribution inflicted on the Turks, for their unjust murder 
of the innocent Chians. The fleet of the Capudan Pasha, 
remained about Scio, unconscious of the coming catastro- 
phe that awaited the flag-ship. Ever and anon, detach- 
ments of the formidable squadrons, endeavoured to assail 
Samos, Tenos, and other islands, but were repulsed by the 
united navy of Hydra, Ipsara, and Spetsia, the three pillars 
of the Greek marine force. 



80 



VENGEANCE OF CANARIS. 

Burning of tlie Turkish flagship. 

It was the evening of the memorable nineteenth of June, 
1822. The admiral on board his noble flag-ship was cele- 
brating the festal nights of Ramazan. After a rigid fast 
by day, he commenced the evening in carousing and intoxi- 
cation. He boasted of the rewards to be lavished upon his 
faithfulness, when he should return to the Metropolis, and 
of the gratification of his monarch, on receiving the ashes 
of Scio, with a choice selection of Greek beauties for his 
Harem. A crowd of flatterers from the whole fleet sur- 
rounded him. Just after sunset, looking upward, the spec- 
tators on the shore and fleet beheld a mysterious appearance 
in the sky, which we mention not to encourage supersti- 
tion, but merely as a fact. In the serene breathless azure, 
arose a flaming cloud, shaped like a sword, with the hilt 
hanging over Ipsara, and the point directed towards the 
Armada. This phenomenon was hailed by the Greeks in 
ihe Consulates, and upon the mountains, as a propitious 
omen. The Dutch Consul, a veteran from Napoleon's 
wars, declared it to be the forerunner of the death of some 
great personage, that very night. 

While the Admiral was given to effeminate indulgence, 
Canaris, on his rockbound isle, was laying a signal plan of 
vengeance. Accompanied by only twenty marines, he 
mounted his black fire-ship or brulott, and sailed for the 
straits of Scio, where the formidable fleet lay moored. By 
skilful manoeuvres, he eluded the sentinel frigates and kept 
off* towards Tchesme, an Asiatic town exactly opposite th# 



VENGEANCE OF CANARIS. 81 

city of Chios. A brilliant meteor shot across the heavens. 
Guided by the celestial signal, he tacked and bore down 
upon the flag-ship. He was discovered ; from the fleet, a 
panic arose with deafening shrieks of despair, followed by 
a deluge of cannonade and musketry against the object of 
terror. Canaris, without recoiling, stood upon his prow, 
encouraging his men onward, in the name of Christ and 
Hellas. The Brulott sped like an arrow in the refreshing 
breeze. The collision followed ; the grapple seized the 
monster ; the hero touched the train, and leaped into the 
skiff. His intrepid Ipsarians plied their oars, and, by their 
own avenging flames, and the flashes of the fire-breathing 
Leviathans that opposed them, were guided in triumph to 
their native isle. The comrades of Canaris, displayed a 
look of exultation to their fellow countrymen who lined the 
shore, awaiting them with deep anxiety. The hero with 
his former simplicity met his friends and accepted the crown 
of laurel presented by the beauty of Ipsara. The maidens 
accompanied him with religious pomp, chanting sacred 
hymns, and bearing olive-branches, and torches, until he 
reached his residence, where he met his beautiful wife and 
their only son. 

We return to the fate of the flag-ship. In the twinkling of 
an eye the flames communicated. The combustibles of the 
exploding brulotto were scattered over the decks of its vic- 
tim. The confusion was indescribable. The Admiral, 
frantic with indignation and perplexity, rushed over the 
decks, invoking aid in the name of " Allah, Ahmet and Mo- 
hammed." He then leaped unnoticed into his barge, cut- 
ting with his scimitar the hands of the cowardly wretches 
clinging for protection. Shall he reach the shore of Scio 
with impunity 1 No ! a fragment of the falling mast hurled 
by the devouring element inflicted on him a mortal wound. 



82 VENGEANCE OP CANARI3. 

He is carried to the insulted shore of Scio to breath his last, 
and close the drama of which he was the principal actor. 
What was the scene presented to his dying gaze? His 
proud ship was immersed in flame. The ignited cannon 
were discharging their ball at random. The citadel and 
the fleet returned the fire of the perishing monster, in order 
to sink it. Destruction raged throughout the Armada ; hun- 
dreds on every ship leaped overboard, most of whom found 
a watery grave. Supplications from the crowded beach 
and the castle, and cries of anguish from the fleet and sea, 
were drowned in the tempest roar of the cannonade ! 

I shall never forget the hour when my mother called her 
family from her tent, to witness the conflagration. My 
brother Stephen and I rushed upon the balcony. The na- 
tive Franks were cursing, but the Greeks, in silence re- 
joiced at such glorious tokens of national power ! The 
flag-ship illuminated the ^gean, and every minute, we ex- 
pected the explosion of the powder-stores. Suddenly that 
floating Pandemonium burst like a volcano. The ground 
shook ; and the air was instantly filled with the burning 
fragments ; which the next moment were seen floating to 
the shores of Scio and Asia, with the mangled carcasses 
of three thousand Turks. Such was the spectacle beheld 
by that satanic leader of the Turkish fleet, who, at the mo- 
ment of the dreadful explosion, was engulphed in the Tar- 
tarean regions. Thus ended the dispensation of wrath 
against that impious minister of a vain-glorious despot, in 
atonement for the shades of those innocent beings, whose 
blood was sacrificed to his rapacity. 

A sleepless night was passed by the refugees in the Con- 
sulates. The pleasure of beholding the Greeks victorious 
by sea, was paramount to all-soothing repose. We dared 



BURNING, ETC. 83 

not express our joy openly, for fear of the native Franks 
and the Turkish Cavass. In order to avoid provoking 
them by our presence, we left the balcony and hid in our 
sand beds, with our heads' reclining on stone pillows. 
What the dawn would bring it was easy to tell. The 
Greek navy generously rescued such of the Chians, as 
thronged to the shore supplicating for deliverance. The 
captives that remained in the hands of the Turks, awaited 
the morrow as the signal for their departure to eternity. 



BURNI?fG OF THE TWENTY-FOUR MASTIC TOWNS. 

The Sultana's Appanage, 

Morning presented a doleful scene. The shore was cov- 
ered with Turkish dead. The Islamites commenced imme- 
diately an indiscriminate massacre of the captives. Many 
a Moslem sacrificed his slaves to Allah and Mohammed. 
Nine hundred prisoners, (chiefly labourers,) were dragged 
from the dungeons of the citadel and put to death. A rich 
harvest of Martyrs was reaped. Heaven echoed to the 
cries, " Remember me, Oh Lord !" 

Hitherto a certain portion of the island on the south and 
west, namely the twenty-four Mastic towns, had not been 
invaded, except to retake runaways from the city. This 
part of Scio was the Appanage of the Mother Sultaness, 
(Sultana Valideh,) who by virtue of delegated title, held 
the Mastic-towns under her protection. Their tribute con- 
sisted of a certain portion of the GumJ^-Mastic produce, 
which was very valuable — and considered superior to the 
Indian in quality. 

Stung with shame and anger, at the exploit of Canaris, 



84 BURNING, ETC. 

the Turks in revenge, assailed the unarmed and defenceless 
lentisk-growers. The Queen's protection was no obstacle 
to the soldiery ; the villages were surprised by the merci- 
less destroyers. Never, in the annals of the worlcj, had oc- 
curred so cowardly an assault, under such delicate circum- 
stances. The word, honour, care, love, and dignity of a 
Queen were outraged. How long shall the diplomatic 
world, for the sake of the balance of power, allow so many 
unjust sacrifices of the innocent ? 

The Mastic-villages were burnt ; their ashes were com- 
mingled with the blood of their families, without distinction 
of age, sex, or condition. All this was done in sight of 
the Colossal ships of Christendom, that lay basking around 
Scio, scenting her breath, and inhaling with perfect com- 
posure her last sigh! Since the 11th of April, 1822, to 
June 20th, a period of more than two months, this island 
had been a scene of demoniacal slaughter, saluted by the 
bellowing cannon and waiving banners of Christendom, by 
way of compliment to Turkey ! Why should so much 
care have been taken to pay so much respect to the Barba- 
rians, in presence of bleeding Scio ? Were Europeans not 
ashamed of bestowing such open flattery, in such a bloody 
place ] Why should enlightened Admirals or Commodores 
exhibit servile regard for the destroyer of defenceless wo- 
men and children 1 Let the gashes of Scio echo your re- 
sponse, ye friends to a tribe which equals in cruelty the 
American savage, without sharing his generosity. The 
great men-of-war of England, France, Austria, and Ameri- 
ca were, at the close of this drama, busy in making boxes 
out of the flag-ship's fragments, which the immortal Cana- 
ris had scattered as marks of his vengeance over the 
J^gean. What ludicrous coincidences ! What a want of 
dignity in the spectators of a scene occupying a flaming 



SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 85 

page in history, and exhibiting the name of Canaris in let- 
ters of undying glory ! Shade of Themistocles ! The 
turbaned Asiatics arc pouring over the stream of Lethe ! 
What power sends them so disfigured? 'Tis thy own ge- 
nius pursuing them. To the hands of Canaris thou hast 
entrusted thy glory and 'shielded him invulnerable. He 
destroys whole squadrons, rendering the watery arena of 
the iEgean, one vast Salamis of retribution. 

The Ottoman rage halted in Scio, for want of victims. 
The refugees in the consulates kept concealed from view. 
Every day, the precincts were searched for runaways. 
Ladies of surpassing beauty who had fled from outrage,, to 
the English lion, the Austrian eagle, or other wild emblems 
of national brute force, were dragged back by human tigers, 
assisted by human plenipotentiaries. Call those charmers 
martyrs of legitimacy, balance of power, or any other 
diplomatic technicality, there was no need of lending a 
hand to the kidnapper. Then was the time for charity if 
ever. That day has passed barring the age to all eternity 
against the reputation of generous and impartial. Either 
governments had no souls or souls no government. When 
iijsulted woman shrieked for aid, no man on earth answered. 
The ships of Europe looked on, and seemed to answer, 
*' chivalry is dead 1" 

SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 

Sixty thousand Chians had lost their lives, and forty 
thousand were enslaved. The sad remnant were dying of 
famine and pestilence. The finishing stroke had been 
given to the Chian catastrophe, and on the vales and moun. 
tains of ^thalia, remained the traces of injustice as testi- 
monies to the world. Where were the hospitals, the schools, 



86 SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 

the silk manufactories, the gardens, the university, the 
Genoese palaces, the monasteries, and the seventy-four 
parochial churches 1 There they lay as low as the rem- 
nants of ancient magnificence destroyed by Darius, Mithri- 
dates and Soleyman. Mahmoud's name is the last of those 
hated appellations, written on Sclo in characters of blood 
and fire. The mountainous shore ascending like an amphi- 
theatre of thirty miles in extent, is one vast blot of devas- 
tation lashed by the groaning, billows. The monastery, 
built by Constantino the monomarch, is a frightful Golgotha. 
The traveler shudders in passing it and examining the 
skulls, all of which are divided by the sword. What must 
have been the echo of blades during that evening of but- 
chery, when five thousand human beings were hacked in 
pieces? Quit this scene, ascend Mt. Epos and witness the 
general view. Nothing that is Greek stands intact. Only 
the gigantic citadel, frowning with Turkish might, and the 
consulates gleaming with European pride, appear unharmed. 
Who are strolling over the rubbish? Bands of Turks and 
Franks are picking the last pin from the ruins ! They un- 
dermine the walls to get not only treasures, but even scraps 
of old lead and old iron. No commerce now except in the 
remnants of what once made business flourish ! Romantic 
tourists and avaricious tradesmen, turn those blackened 
wastes to their own account. Vessels were laden with 
plunder and sent throughout the old and new world. To 
Boston and New York came Chian spoil ! The very trees 
of Scio are rooted up by Europeans, and transported to 
England, France, and Germany ! Thus, after Scio was 
killed by Turkey, Europe tore her in pieces ! Jews, 
Franks, and Armenians, led by the consuls, advanced lika 
armies of accomplices to bear the Turk out in his plan and 
share a part of his gaiii. Oh, terrible visitation of human 



i 



SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 8T 

and cosmopolitan outrage ! Fair Scio ! dead as thou art, 
thou hast more ambrosial pith in thy stock than the grand- 
est states ! Thy protege, or son, Homer, whose genius was 
ehcited and patronised by thee, thy son of the present cen- 
tury, Coray, and thy godlike forbearance under ancient 
tyrants, all thy genius and action afford nourishment to the 
world ! Immortal Scio ! Thy periodical births and burials 
are necessary to call out thy worth and prove to mankind 
that there is a sea-girt island of innocence, glorified by 
mental greatness, and unstained, by a signal instance of 
heroic or bloody fame ! 

Among the first settlers of renewed Scio, were jny 
mother's family. We issued from our holes in the ground 
at the consul's call. Messengers were sent to invite the' 
mountaineers. Alas! how few remained! The Turks 
wept that so much skill and industry had been annihilated. 
Death had swallowed up the means of revenue, the springs 
of enterprise and the charms of nature. Many Turks with 
all their spoil were poverty-stricken. All articles of con- 
venience must come from abroad. The artisans, who made 
luxury attainable, were dead. We issued from our caves 
to rebuild Scio. The pasha obedient to the sultan, set the 
Chians to work, that he might again have a taxable com- 
munity to pay him a fair salary. Bounties were given to 
guch parents as had saved most children from slaughter. 
Officers were sent to enumerate the survivors and station 
them in the ruined streets. The consuls gathered like hens 
their flocks of refugees under their wings, and clucked for 
them to follow. The Turks came to take the census. 
Fearing some new trick between the pasha and the consuls, 
every Greek at the first panic fled, supposing that the mas- 
sacre would be renewed. I hid in a ruin until hunger 



88 SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 

forced me out. The Turks by entreaties at last recalled all 
the fugitives. The mountains gave up their quick, but not 
their dead, to form the new colony. I was disguised as a 
Frank, to avoid being recognized as a runaway. My 
mother sought a chance to send me away from the island, 
lest I should be recaptured. The pasha, by a sort of sense- 
less custom, announced to the Porte that Scio was again 
flourishing. 

Our dwelling, assigned to us by the pasha, had but one 
habitable room, and that full of carcasses. The very yard 
was rendered nauseous by carrion. Imagine the labor of 
cleansing it. My mother's jewelry, though sacrified to a 
cheap sale, supported us. 

A novel system of alliance was made by the Consuls 
with the invaders to share in the remains of Chian pros- 
perity, and take the last valuable article which was buried 
in the ruins. Cargoes of copper, iron, marble, and great 
quantities of silver were shipped to foreign ports. The 
Albanians and Krijals (Ilyrians) coming later than the other 
Turks, found a smaller quantity of costly articles, but could 
not depart without plundering the rubbish. These ignorant 
barbarians often mistook the melted silver for copper from 
the coloring of other substances, and sold it for a trifle to 
the Consuls, under whose direction they undermined the 
palaces, and took the last nail from the ruins. One apart- 
ment of the English Consulate was entirely filled with iron, 1 1 
copper, lead, bells of the monasteries, earthern ware and 
valuable furniture, purchased for almost nothing. I do not 
condemn the Romish Christians, for speculating on our | 
rubbish only, but for encouraging the Turks to destroy the i 
remaining walls of the Greek mansions which had been 



i 



SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 89 

spared by the flames. The object was merely to obtain 
concealed treasures and the iron bolts which braced the 
arches and other portions. 

Tyranny and avarice have stripped Scio of all the traces 
of life and beauty by whicb she was once animated. She 
has been deprived of every earthly good for freedom of 
conscience, and what has she gained ? Nothing but the 
loss of that aid from Christian lands which common charity 
ought not to have withheld. England, France, and Russia, 
the allies of Greece, have excluded her from the independ- 
ent state of Greece, and surrendered her again to her 
murderers. 

To give an idea of the magnitude of her misfortunes, we 
say, that out of a population of 130,000 inhabitants, only 
16,000 have escaped from the scimitar and servile chain 
to repeople and renew their desolate homes. Since 1822 
these 16,000 have increased to 50,000. There they are 
surrounded by relics of departed prosperity, struggling for 
its renovation, and at this day, presenting marks of attrac- 
tion to the passing observer. 

They are laboring to restore the appearance of nature to 
the unrivalled soil and climate; with the sweat of the brow^ 
varnishing the picture of earthly prospects to relieve again, 
to the admiration of the world, the color and gloss of the 
master production of peace and innocence. Their arm 
exerts a gigantic nerve, not in war, but in taming the rocks 
to fertility, and subduing the trees to golden fecundity. The 
vineyards and gardens begin to smile at the past, and to 
glow with the fairest and most cheering prospects for the 
future. Nevertheless, the frightful ruins of the institutions 
of learning cast a frown and despairing glare of melancholy 
upon the natural renovation with which they are surrounded* 
Alas, there is no golden arm of opulence to cultivate the 
7 



9® SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 

mind by procuring teachers and professors, those instru- 
ments which cause the roughest and most difficult capacity 
to bring forth an hundred fold. The smith, at the forge, 
might shape the thunderbolt wielded by Jove ; but there is 
no Cyclopean arm of Vulcan to strike from the brain of 
Jupiter the enlightening goddess, Minerva. 

Some Grecian youth have received, at home, an education 
from American instructors ; others, driven by the misfor- 
tunes of their motherland to distant domains, have tasted 
the revivifying fruit of the tree of knowledge. 

As for myself, I acknowledge the deepest gratitude to 
these United States, for having led me in the path of learn- 
ing, under the direction of your Apollo who slew the Python 
of despotism, and by the encouragement of your muses, 
who inhabit the great Pierian forest of nature, and imbibe the 
mineral-spring of temperate and manly enterprise. 

The Greeks are scattered by thousands in foreign lands, 
wandering like bees, in search of utility, which they collect 
from flowers that bloom in other communities that are 
thriving with means of life and comfort. The European 
cities teem with Grecian youth, roaming voluntary and 
often distressed, exiles for their country's good. 

These assertions are by no means poetic imaginings, 
since home and fatherland follow every where the Grecian 
traveler, and the well-being of his nation guides his choice 
of employment. 

The fame of your immortal Franklin's efforts and writings 
for the cause of education has awakened the most anxious 
desire among the Greeks, for an institution similar to those 
of which he was the founder. 

The earnest application of the leading men of Scio for aid 
from abroad in the support of Primary Schools has already 



SCIO AFTER THE CATASTROPHE. 91 

met with approbation. Even the Sultan gave a liberal dona- 
tion for establishing Schools on her shores. But, the hopes 
of this island are founded more on Christendom than on her 
savage masters, who assist her for mere interest or policy. 

Scio, then, the long tested Princess of peaceful policy 
extends her bleeding arms to the literary world, soliciting 
from her advocates the restoration of knowledge which ty- 
ranny has lately wrested from her bosom. 

The world has resounded and still breathes a silent echo 
to the calamities that have befallen that island. Her expir- 
ing dames and delicate maidens excited compassion in the 
remotest nations. The disabled and starving fugitives from 
Turkish cruelty were consoled by contributions from Eu- 
rope, America and India. Unparalleled concessions were 
made by powerful monarchs to a democratic-minded people. 
These acts of benevolence on the part of Christendom are 
still fresh in the minds of the recipients ; who glow with 
eternal gratitude and prayers to the Giver of all things. 

Notwithstanding this benevolence, the heavenly blessing 
of mental culture has not been reinstated on its ruins. The 
exterminated professors and teachers have not been supplied 
by others. The terrible wound on Art and Science has not 
been healed. No trophy of intellectual assistance from 
foreign Christians is left on her shores. Her suffering 
desire for education has a claim on universal sympathy. 

The world owes an obligation to the blind old man of 
Scio's rocky isle, since from this community, it is supposed, 
was first promulgated the art of poetry to the other cities 
of Greece. On Homers shoulders, rests the entire fabric 
of antique imagery, and without him it would all fall to 
the ground for want of this Atlas of the poetical sphere. 

So much do I know and present I was. 



93 FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 



CHAPTER Vir. 



FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 

To avoid being detected as a runaway slave, it was neces- 
sary to devise means to fly to foreign parts. 

The decree of the Sultan, forbidding any Chian to quit 
the island, was no hindrance to my departure. My kind 
mother's intercession with the Captain of a Cephalonian 
vessel proved successful to secure my passage in spite of 
imperial interdiction. The course was novel and the plot 
deep laid, or rather I was laid deep in a cargo of wheat, 
/in a swimming attitude with a sift over my head. Since 
the Turks had often bought and sold me as if a slave were 
a merchantable animal, I did not think it illegal to adopt 
another form of trade. This making merchandise df my- 
self saved me from discovery, when the officer came on 
board to search for natives of the island. After setting 
sail, I came on deck to cast a farewell glance at my ruined 
home. I could see nothing erect over our abode in the dis 
tance, except the Cypress tree standing in sepulchral soli 
tude. The conglomeration of dark ruins like the chaos oi 
Paradise displayed to the mind, with startling emphasis, the 
fall of man. There was the garden of peace and love inva- 
ded by the Asiatic serpents of barbarism. The fruit of the 
tree of knowledge of good and evil proved of bitter taste to 
the giver as well as the recipient. Scio like a fair Eve 
was treacherously seduced by Moslem duplicity to obey!, 
tyrannical mandates ; but like the serpent so the Sublimd t 

I 



?\ 
'I 



d 



FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 93 

Porte is equally bruised by man, and ere long will be per- 
mitted t© trouble the nations no longer. The wind freshen- 
ed and snatched us violently from a sight which raised a 
tempest of sympathy in every Christian beholder. Sailing 
through the southern opening of the straits of Scio we 
neared Sanios, passed Icaria and made for Syra. A contra- 
ry wind arose while we were in the open sea, and forced 
us to tack towards Pares. The waves ran high and violent. 
Neptune the earth-shaking deity showed his ability to toss 
our vessel at his will. For the first time, I had launched 
forth upon life with nothing from my parents but their bless- 
ing : and when I was cast about by the merciless billow, I 
really felt that I had been thrown upon my own resources. 
The wintry air and the chilling wave invaded our bark. 
The cabin was full of rich passengers from the Black Sea, 
and the deck of second-hand mortals, refugees and runaway 
slaves. Take notice, reader, that the latter were not melan- 
thropes. Christopher hearing the passengers converse freely 
about the triumph of modern Greek freedom, buried his 
grief in the enthusiasm of the moment. But the hour has 
arrived for retirement to our berths. The first class coming 
from the regions of the Golden Fleece were like a happy 
flock in their comfortable fold below with the youthful 
Bacchus in their arms. The second order including Chris- 
topher herded together on deck and made pillows of one 
another. Pillowing a bull-headed boor of Trebizond who 
snored like a Charybdis, Christopher surrendered him to 
another's ribs and strolled the deck to find a more conve- 
nient and quiet place of repose. Stumbling over a barrel at 
the prow, he drew his capote around him and entered the 
cask. Shielded in this manner, he resisted the heavy tread 
of the rushing mariners. Diogenes could roll his tub at 
Athens, in her days of glory, but poor Christopher, turned 



94 FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 

and lashed by the waves, was driven to foreign shores with- 
out the hope of revisiting his dear native Scio. 

When morning broke, Scio was no longer visible ; the 
harbor of Paros received us into its quiet bosom ; we landed 
and touching the independent shore, thanked God that 
Greece had some traces of liberty left unpolluted by tyranny. 
The fear of the Armada kept the Parians in constant agita- 
tion. This island which once defied the Athenians was 
now trembling, at the mere story of Scio's wrongs. As a 
peaceful, unwarlike and industrious community, they learned 
the fate of their sister isle with horror, and anxiously 
watched the sea whenever the breath of Boreas blew from 
the bleak and merciless regions of the Sublime Porte. A 
large body of gigantic Cretans, with their long rifles had 
come to defend them. When 1 beheld those descendants of 
the Titans, I felt more secure. The citizens thronged about 
us with great earnestness, inquiring about the particulars of 
the massacre of the Chians. Learning to what family I 
belonged, a Parian informed me that one of my aunts, Lula, 
was in town. At the massacre on Melcena Promontory, she 
had fled to the water, where she was seized by an Ipsarian 
mariner in a small boat, rescued from the scimitar and 
brought to Paros. While I was planning to greet a kindred 
exile, Lula embraced me and burst into a paroxysm of tears. ■ 
"Alas !" said she, "my husband remained on the moun- 
tains of our native isle, unable, through sickness, to follow 
me, and I know not if the Turks or the vultures have 
triumphed over him." The disconsolate condition of my 
beloved aunt made exile doubly bitter. After receiving a 
few presents, and her more valuable blessing, I re-embarked 
for Syra. A short voyage brought us within the ample 
harbor of Hermopolis, the new city, founded by Chian, 
Ipsarian, and other refugees from Turkish cruelty. 



n 



II 



1 



FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 95 

My appearance in this place, was a thrilling epoch in 
my history. Leveled to complete destitution, I cast my 
eye upon the various employments of my comrades in mis- 
fortune. The want of capital confined enterprise to the 
most insignificant stock. Not being disciplined to perform 
the duties of a common laborer, I selected 'peddling as the 
starting point of commercial exertion. Americans need 
not imagine two trunks swung over the shoulder, like foot- 
pedlars of their own country, nor a furious team rattling 
along like those of the Connecticut tin pedlars. Nothing 
but water, the pure stream of life and vigor was my capi- 
tal. Nature allowed me to receive it without money and 
without price. Hermopolis is a thirsty place; deriving its 
means of refreshment entirely from a spring about a mile 
distant. Shouldering my earthen jar, I promenaded with 
alacrity to the fountain (called Pege) and after a fatiguing 
march returned to the city to find purchasers. Almost 
every one had engaged their supplies from other persons, 
and I spent so long a time in finding customers, that the 
water became warm and unpalatable. To buy snow to cool 
it would take off all the profit. In the midst of my per- 
plexity, a venerable dame reduced by war to the vsame pro- 
fession proposed to take me into her company, and give me 
a share of her numerous patrons. This was a grand open- 
ing to juvenile efforts, and revealed a prospect of reaching 
a respectable rank of industry. I became as active as a 
small aqueduct, and inundated many families with refresh- 
ment and inspiration. The modest jar uncorked itself with 
business-like dispatch and graced the decanter, the glass, 
and the pitcher of the highest mansions of the city, with a 
pure unrivalled wave. Wherever it passed, many beautiful 
lips were smacking in fond anticipation of its contents. 
Smiles were bestowed on the poor pedlar, and many a kind 



96 FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 

word consoled his toil and privation ! Ambition taught him 
to aspire to rise still higher in the world, not in the grades 
of political distinction, but in the daily walks of his voca- 
tion. His intention was to get above the heads of the com- 
mercial portion of the community. Aiming at the stars, 
he saw the pyramidal, and precipitous height of the old 
town of Syra, and formed a resolution to mount up thither 
and look after patrons among the Romish natives who 
formed the majority at this locality. The journey .was 
tedious, but he trudged along with his old jar on his shoulder 
and kept his eye on the walls and balconies of the gaol of 
glory, overcoming every fatigue in the rough assent, and 
exhibiting an alacrity and a facility, which might put to the 
blush those indolent dreamers who exclaim 

"Oh, who can tell, how hard it is to climb 
The steep where fame's proud temple shines afar 1" 

Reaching the pyramidal eminence, he looked down upon 
Hermopolis, and viewed the swarms of citizens roaming 
like ants in search of support, in the winter of the nation's 
discontent. He eyed the harbour, where ships of all na- 
tions were congregated, and then raising his vision, greeted 
the surrounding Cyclades, standing about him in green 
array. A fresh breeze blew about this peak, and conferred 
a salubrious atmosphere upon the habitations and streets of 
these upper regions. But the appearance of things was 
more airy than busy ; the Latin lassies paraded the streets, 
and flourished at the windows, but little smacking of lips 
was heard. On seeing the variety of airs, prevalent in this 
aristocratic resort, he despaired of making any sales there, 
and returned to his former patrons. A new idea entered 
his head to frame a distich or two to announce his vocation 
with song. Necessity makes inventions, and the verse 



J 



FLIGHT FKOM SCIO. 97 

which he composed, to extol his beverage, was soon ready- 
to appear before the public. One languishing sultry after- 
noon thrilling at the prospect of speculation, he sallied forth, 
armed with a jar on the right hand, and a glass on the left 
singing the following lines, which we translate : 

*' Water, water, from the fount ! 
Snowy from the cloud-capt mount ! 
Maidens, cool your hearts of love 
Willi drink distilled from heaven above. 
Quench your thirsting lips I pray, 
Take a draught, and mind to pay. 
May the Virgin shovirer on you 
Prosperity's reviving dew 1" 

The echo of this couplet awakened the attention. of the 
whole community, and the loud and shrill tone of the- ad- 
venturer gave the market quite a start. Competition was 
alive in the water business, but who could rival the Chian 
exile aided by the swan-like notes of the dying innocence of 
his motherland. The hearts of all were touched with ad- 
miration and benevolence^ The highest professors of the 
•water department were almost frantic with perplexity, sup- 
posing that they would lose all their custom. Conspiracies 
were formed to waylay the successful competitor, and 
break his jar. On going to the fountain one day, not sus- 
pecting any ambush, he filled his jar, and jogged along in 
fond anticipations of profit, counting his paras before they 
were paid. The jar was resting on his shoulder in short- 
lived tranquility, for on entering the suburbs, an opponent 
in disguise drew a sling with unerring precision, and darted 
a stone which dashed his poor jar in pieces, poured the wa- 
ter down his neck, and left nothing but the handle adhering 
to his fingers. This made the poetic adventurer change his 



98 FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 

tone, hush his music, and immersed in the tide of his earthly 
prospects to lay himself up to dry in the sun. Swimming 
in grief, he uttered audible lamentation, and clung to the 
green robe of nature for succor. In this disconsolate plight, 
he was started from his despondent attitude, by the gentle 
tones of a silver-haired, grief- worn exile of Scio, once a re- 
vered member of her magistracy. Alas ! how altered were 
our destinies, both reduced to the same state of privation, 
the sage and his pupil struggling through the lowest means 
of life, to support their suffering fi'ame. I recalled the days 
when his features glowed with peaceful joy from his opulent 
mansion, blessing with happiness a host of grateful relatives 
who invoked the favour of Heaven upon the brow of the 
noble-hearted Zygomalas. The thunders of Moslem injus- 
tice inv.aded his abode, and he fled to a cave accompanied 
with other fugitives from the great massacre. His relatives 
were surprised in their subterranean retreat, by the mur- 
derers, while he was absent to obtain his valise full of mo- 
ney, buried in the ground. On his way with his servant, 
he was pursued by the Turks, and forced to abandon the 
treasure. While the avaricious invaders were taking pos- 
session of the spoil, he escaped. The valise contained gold 
and silver coin to the amount of about 20,000 piastres. 
Rescued by Admiral Tombases, he was brought to Syra, 
the principal asylum of the few surviving Chians. A mer- 
chant, pitying his utter destitution, allowed him a stand in 
front of his store, to open a small trade. Since that time 
he had been in the fish line, selling mackerel, anchovy, and 
other kinds according to the prevailing taste of the public. 
Having been a friend of my father, he took compassion on 
my misery, and employed me as an associate in his toil. 
His infirmity tied him to a stationary traflic, but my activity 
gave him a wider scope, and started customers in the re- 



FLIGHT FROM SCIO. 99 

motest street. Like a Tartar, I ran from house to house, 
winging the fame of our assortment, and turning a penny or 
para in every method imaginable, putting in practice the 
precepts of Franklin, and demonstrating that " time is mo- 
ney." Disregarding all luxury, 1 was taught by experience, 
that " a penny saved is a penny gained." Feeling a deep 
love of learning, Christopher looked upon money as means 
of mental and moral benefit, snatched by the miners from 
the bosom of nature, to beam its white and yellow brilliancy 
upon the soul. He spared his profits, and soon found 
means to embark anew upon that sea of life, the transpa- 
rent iEgcan. A voyage to Nauplion, which the valiant 
Staikos had taken not long before, excited the most enthu- 
siastic joy, requiting his expenses with more than an equi- 
valent. He embarked upon a sloop which was brim-full of 
passengers. Among them was a bold restless son of the 
mountains of Epirus, a daring Suliote, who feared neither 
war nor tempest. The raging billows embraced us fre- 
quently, during our hours of repose, and left us dripping, 
with their salt caress. While we were ranoincr in darkness, 
a pirate boat was observed approaching. The Suliote, far 
from being daunted, rushed upon the prow, holding his rifle 
ready for a discharge. He was the only armed man on 
deck, but by a stratagem, he determined to keep the pirates 
at bay. Although we had no cannon, he shouted to his 
men to point the cannon^ and fire it into the invading boat. 
The obscurity of the evening favoured the ruse. He snatched 
his rifle, told them to keep off", then fired, and killed one of 
the pirates. Calling in great precipitancy for his men to 
prepare themselves for conflict, he struck the pirates with 
dread and caused them to retire. 



100 VOYAGE TO KAUPLION. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

VOYAGE TO NAUPLION AND MEETING WITH AMERICAN 
KELIEF AGENTS. 

After this escape, we entered the Gulf of Argolis, and 
reached Nauplion in safety. The bold promontory on 
which the city stands is almost buried in fortifications. The 
whole city is surrounded by a wall and commanded by the 
Palameda (the castle) which crowns the lofty rock with 
impregnable strength. This powerful position sheltered the 
flower of the Grecian communities and defied the united 
assaults of Egypt and Turkey. The loss of Nauplion, 
sustained by the Porte, sealed the revolutionary success. 
Here was the great point of shelter to fugitives from the 
bloody fields of massacre. My occupation now took a 
wider range. The overthrow of the entire army of Drama 
Ali left the coast and the mountains clear. In my rambles 
to Argos, I saw the bones of the invaders bleaching un- 
buried. A companion of mine showed me the ruins of his 
house where his relatives were murdered without reference 
to age, sex, or condition. The ven2;eance of the Greeks 
sacrificed its victims on the rock and the plain, where I 
wandered, viewing the traces of their victories. The passes 
of Corinth were covered with Turkish bones. Tripolilza, 
the conquest of Colorotrones, bore testimony to the boldness 
of the first brilliant onset of the revolutionists. Not only 
the fields and heaps of Mussulman bones, but the spoils of 
victory, the Asiatic camels, the Arab steeds, and all the 



VOYAGE TO NAUPLION. 101 

splendid weapons of Moslem prowess displayed the match- 
less bravery of the conquerors. The contrast of such 
triumphant associations with those terrible scenes of mas- 
sacre which I had witnessed on my native island, was 
inspiring and consoling. If Scio has perished, Greece 
lives, and bids defiance to the same barbarians which had 
made Europe tremble and pay tribute. Such reflections 
destroyed much of my grief and despondency. 

The strength of Nauplion's lofty wall was an inducement 
to retain me there during all the dangers of revolutionary 
conflict. Here for four years, in the very heat of our 
struggle, I carried on my peaceful business, with little 
annoyance. From 1822 to 1825, the face of Greece 
was undergoing perpetual changes. Crete and Cassos suf- 
fered unsparing cruelty and devastation ; Macedonia was 
almost depopulated ; Smyrna and Constantinople were 
bathed in gore ; the innocent Cydonia, near Troy, was 
devoted to massacre and conflagration ; and Ipsara, the 
Thermopylas of the ^Egean, the birth-place of the great 
Canaris, the leader of the fire-ships, was a red monument 
coloured by the veins of the victors and the vanquished, 
hurled to death in one dread explosion. 

But the points which the Sultan had assailed (excepting 
Ipsara) were abodes of unarmed and generally peaceful 
communities. Instead of attacking the foe, the Musulman 
singled out the most helpless and delicate beings, devoting 
even the little infants and their mothers to the scimitar. 
The world learned by experience that the modern Turks 
had not improved by their contact with Christendom. In- 
stead of making advances, they perpetrated crimes of which 
their slaves would blush to be guilty. Murder, sacrilege, 
rapine and devastation, those demons of depravity, inspired 



102 VOYAGE TO NAUPLION. 

the followers of the Prophet with dark designs more heinous 
and unnatural than mere man could contrive. 

The complaint of the European plenipotentiaries, against 
barbarity and ruin, reduced the Sultan Mahmoud tq an 
unparalleled artifice. Being aware that they would not be 
satisfied with mere promises of improvement, he pursued a 
headlong course to make a display of pretensions to amelio- 
ration. Discipline on the European plan was introduced 
to patronise the talent of Christian adventurers, who flocked 
about his throne to enlist in his cause. The immense num- 
ber of foreigners in the Turkish army and fleet acted as a 
kind of illusive phantom of change veiling the turpitude of 
the intention in a Frank uniform. The Pashalik of Egypt 
felt a French atmosphere. The protruding eye-balls of the 
ugly-shaped Egyptians glared from beneath a plain Fes, - 
and their uniform otherwise aped a French fashion. These 
descendants of the Pharoahs, with unexampled eff"rontery, 
landed on Greece, professing unblushingly their object of 
colonising the Peloponnesus. Such an emigration from Egypt 
displays the greatest failure in all the schemes of modern 
colonization. Their arrival was a curse to the country 
wherever they proceeded. The mountains trembled at 
their approach, and the habitations of man and the haunts 
of the beast were desolate. Trees were torn up by their 
roots, and the innocent gardeners, farmers, and peasants 
were roasted alive in the blaze of their own trophies of 
industry. Such was the colony sent by Mehemed Ali to 
please, flatter, and appease the Christians ! Was there ever 
such a curse inflicted on mankind, on nature, on the animal 
kingdom, on cultivation, and every attribute and department 
of existence? It seemed that the Seven Plagues of Egypt 
had been invited to Greece, by the European followers of 
he doctrines of Moses. 



VOYAGE TO NAUPLION. 103 

Ibrahim Pasha corroborating the destructive professions of 
his fellow emigrants promised to carry to the sultan the 
ashes of the Morea. His idea of colonization acted like 
corrosive sublimate and oil of vitriol on the bosom of nature 
and art. Europe allowed the Sublime Porte to pursue this 
ridiculously horrible process of what she falsely called 
" regular warfare carried on by disciplined troops." Let 
us look at the deeds of the warriors, and observe the prac- 
tice of their principles. 

The progress of the Egyptians through the Morea was 
like a tongue of flame obliterating every vestige of civiliza- 
tion. I was at Argos when the thunders of the advancing 
squadrons resounded like some distant cataract of death. 
Before I could reach Nauplion, the tide, hurled along on the 
winged rapidity of Arab steeds, fell upon my devoted head. 
Companies of peasants were slaughtered without mercy ; 
the cry was, " Down with the infidels !" and I felt my 
destiny approaching. Chance saved me almost miracu- 
lously from their hands. The sortie of the Greek army 
from Nauplion drove the invaders away and restored peace 
to that portion of the territory. 

I shall never forget the epoch of the fall of Mesolonghi, 
that city associated with the immortal names of Byron and 
Marco Bozzaris. A portion of the famishing garrison cut 
its escape through the Albanians, Janissaries, Egyptians 
and Turks. The other portion remained and blew them- 
selves up with their assailants. Those who fled, crossed 
the gulf of Corinth, traversed the Arcadian mountains and 
arrived at Nauplion. They came to announce that Meso- 
longhi was a heap of ruins. But this process of destruc- 
tion, instead of subduing the Greeks, only rendered them 
still more determined to prosecute the war. The demolished 
walls of Mesolonghi were no obstacle to liberty, as long as 



104 VOYAGE TO NAUPLION. 

a breast remained to defend her cause. The destitute fugi- 
tives from Mesolonghi, all bathed in blood and tears, excited 
sympathy and practical love. 

The Musulmans directed their audacious legions against 
the indomitable fastnesses of Sparta, and vainly endeavored 
to overthrow the descendants of Leonidas. 

It is curious to notice that the passage of the Turks was 
assisted by the privations which the Greeks endured, or by 
treachery. Mesolonghi was deserted by its defenders, 
merely from want of provisions. Ipsara was betrayed into 
the hands of the Musulmans, by the Albanians whom she 
had enlisted in her service, as mercenaries forming a body 
of two thousand men under their Captain Cotas. Among 
the Albanians, it .is fashionable to adapt the religious creed 
to circumstances. The Albanians hired by Ipsara pro- 
fessed at first to be of the Greek religion, but when they saw 
fit to turn traitors, they declared themselves Musulmans. 

The refugees from the tortures of Egyptian regulars 
flocked en all sides to the remaining fortresses, cities and 
islands, which had not been destroyed. Nauplion, the 
palladium of modern Greece, received the largest number 
of sufierers. From the remotest antiquity, Greece had 
never been a subject of such terrible convulsions as at this 
late period, when the whole resources of the Ottoman Em- 
pire were brought to bear upon one small point. European 
skill and science entered the Turkish ranks and fought for 
the crescent. The starving Greeks showed that, with a 
proper supply of provisions, they could defend any post 
whatever. This promising reflection awakened Europe to 
sympathy, and active benevolence. Poets and orators gave 
their minds to the Grecian cause, and directed the people to 
bestow that encouragement to liberty which monarchs refus- 
ed, England and France sent supplies of food to the sufferers, 



VOYAGE TO NAUPLION. 105 

and saved many from death. The Pope exhibited that 
generous charity which St. Paul has recommended to the 
Christians of all sects and creeds. Many vessels (trabacula) 
by his orders, wafted from Italy, a supply of bread for the 
country whence she received her laws, arts and sciences. 
Such was the forgetfulness of sectarian hatred that many a 
noble member of the Romish Church came to battle for the 
free. The scowl retired from the brow of Christendom 
when the beams of charity gleamed from her face and 
gratified the two other graces, faith and hope. We could 
well exclaim with the great Apostle of the Gentiles, "Faith, 
hope, and charity, these three ; but the greatest of them is 
charity." For the first time, since the schism of the 
churches, it seemed that the shade of primitive Christianity 
had arisen to break the bonds of the thousand years of 
Satan's triumph, and prevent that champion of discord from 
disturbing the Church any more. God grant that hence- 
forth th» ministers of the Sultan's wrath may be kept in 
awe by the united powers of Christendom. 

Louis, king of Bavaria, was a signal helper of the cause 
of Grecian freedom, through the provisions which he des- 
patched to the relief of a people from which he claims de- 
scent. His son Otho, the present king of Greece, traces his 
pedigree back to the royal family of Palaeologus. This 
deduction of his genealogy from that lofty source has been 
sanctioned and rendered valuable by the noble sacrifices 
which he has made to the name. France, also remember- 
ing the colonization and civilization of Marseilles by lonians, 
has not been recreant to the Grecian blood with which her 
veins have been entrusted. Corsica, that island which, as 
Rousseau predicted, would one day astonish the world, 
gave birth to Napoleon Bonaparte, a descendant of the 

8 



=1 



106 AMERICAN SUPPLIES, 

exiled Spartans who fled to Corsica from Moslem persecu- 
tion, and partially colonized the island, which had ancient! 
been entirely peopled by Greeks. The Greek Sparta 
name Calomeros translated into Italian becomes Bonaparte^ 
an appellation given only to descendants from the Greeks 
in Italy. Soutzos, the most celebrated poet of modern 
Greece, traces this genealogy by indications which appeaf^ 
irrefutable. But the pride of blood should not be the only: 
inspiration to charity. England, without any boast of pedi- 
gree, proclaimed herself the fellow-citizen of the genius thaf 
first caught refinement from the bosom of the mother of 
good taste. 

AMERICAN SUPPLIES. 

The sparks of European benevolence were hot with 
cheering rays, when a meteoric stream of democratic friend- 
ship shot up from the western horizon, enlivening the pros- 
pect with the saving glow of American freedom. This last 
but best acknowledgment of esteem was least expected and 
most nobly dispensed. Previously, the writings of our great 
Coray had excited our admiration for America, but we had p I 
cherished no hope of succour from a land existing " farther 
west than our sires' islands of the blest." States and towns, 
whose names and existence we had never heard of, sent I. 
many a token of peaceful attachment across the boisterouaf 
wave. L 

In the midst of these approximations and coincidences of* 
the American and Greek spirit, the writer of this sketch was 
at Nauplion. Thrilling, with enthusiasm, at the name of 
America, he sought every opportunity to see one of her 
sons. Hearing that Dr. Howe, first surgeon of the Greek 
fleet and afterwards American relief agent, was anxious to ■ 
obtain a Greek lad to accompany him to America, I obtain- 



AMERICAN SUPPLIES. 107 

ed a vecommencIaLion to tliis philanthropist, through Dr. 
Glarakes then Secretary oflhe state, and Mrs. Zenu Dama- 
la, both of Scio. My parents were not unknowa to them. 
Dr. Howe took with him the boy of Scio. Wlierever his 
course was directed Christopher feli. proud of acknowledging 
as patron, a practical admirer of Solon and Lycurgus. 
Formerly, as a poor slave to save his life he had filled the 
Tchibouk (pipe) of the terrible Mustapha, already mention- 
ed, but now he served a countryman of Washington that he 
may take him to America for the cultivation of his mind. 
Following the fashion of the place, my patron adopted the 
Suliote costume, and thus brought his dress as well as spirit, 
to almost perfect identity with the Greek. Casting off the 
Chian costume I assumed the warlike Albanian, and put a 
pair of pistols in my belt. My office began to present a 
manifold appearance. I formed Dr. Howe's entire suit of 
attendants in my own person, and as he was regarded as a 
Prince^ the honor which I gained by the association was 
co-extensive with the number of ray titles. I was Pipe- 
bearer, Body guard. Cook and Treasurer! The origin 
of this multiform dignity of mine must be looked for in the 
nature of our mode of life. We were nomades. We could 
not be stationary. We were obliged to be prepared to 
move or halt at a moment's warning. On the plain or 
mountain, by ship or by shore, wherever evening overtook 
us, there we pitched our tent. No superfluous furniture, 
no ponderous kettles, no trunks nor bandboxes impeded our 
course. Like the ancient heroes of the Iliad, we carried 
house and home about us, and found a lodgment in the 
wilderness or on the deep with equal facility. Like the 
Jews of antiquity we took up our bed and walked. All the 
contrivances of the various wandering tribes, every sugges- 
tion of a roving career, and the whole body of the machina- 



108 AMKRICAN SUPPLIES, 

tions of Indians, Gypsies, and Bedouins were put in requisi- 
tion to render the dispatch of our daily peregrinations as 
unhindered as possible. This kind of existence was fashion- , 
able at that time in Greece, on account of the disagreeable 
annoyance, occasioned by the appearance of the hostile force ' 
of Turks, Egyptians and Albanians, ranging at large, like 
a herd of fire-breathing monsters or chimeras. The glitter- 
ing of the scimitar was our signal of departure, and we left 
the soldiers fighting while we hastened to distribute relief to 
the suffering families. i | 

At a place called the Mills, at the head of the Argolic 
Gulf, near the spot where Hercules killed the Lernean Hy- 
dra, not far^ from Nauplion, we distributed the American 
supplies and received the thanks of starving fugitives from ' ■ 
various parts of continental Greece. The unhappy sufferers * I 
were[]numbered and apportioned. It was pitiful to see fami- 
liesjonce rich^and fair now reduced to distress and famine. 
Some had succeeded in erecting wigwams ; others endured 
the open sun and the night dews and felt themselves perish- 
ing from hour to hour. The American liour seemed like I 
Manna sent|from Heaven to revive the believers in the God I 
of the Hebrews. The American cloth formed the drapery | 
of some, who would have been in need of a shroud, had » 
their hunger not been relieved by transatlantic food. The 
boxes of clothing often contained garments in the American 
costume, and it was tragi-comical to see the fantastic gusto 
of their mode of wearing it. The adjustment of pantaloons 
and vest, formed a comedy in view of the terrible warlike 
tragedy acted^^on the same spot. 

In the midst of our occupation, we heard the sound of a 
distant cannonade. " To arms, to arms,"*' became the cry, 
and all stood prepared to defend their position to the last 
gasp. To retire to Nauplion, would be folly, while the 



AMERICAN SUPPLIES. 109 

Egyptian Regulars were at our heels. Dr. Howe and Col. 
Miller, of Washington's country, went shoulder to shoulder 
with the Greek, and taught them that the children of De- 
mocracy are one and indivisible wherever they go. The 
frightful, ghastly, and monstrous ferocity, and tiger-like 
blood thirstiness of the modern sons of Pharaoh, required 
no Red Sea to stop their career, but when they attempted to 
assail the Mills, they were overwhelmed in the wave of their 
blood. In vain did the thunders of French tactics, and 
European gunnery, seek to penetrate the place where two 
or three sons of Columbia were gathered together. The 
oppressors fled, scattered like sand in a Simoon. Col. Mil- 
ler led a band of Suliotes,and marched through the flying 
sand, raised by the hostile cannon-ball, shouting to his men 
to strike on. {^uaelre varreetay). On the open fields, the 
few met the many and put them to the route. The names 
of Dr. Howe and Col. Miller, associated with such a bril- 
liant action, need no flourish of my feeble pen, since a me- 
mento of their worth is impressed upon the heart of the Greek 
nation. After the battle. Dr. Howe made himself doubly 
useful, by bestowing surgical care upon the wounded. 

Let us hasten from this dreadful scene of triumphant 
bravery, and cast a glance at the progress of American be- 
nevolence. We embarked for Spezzia, an island near the 
mouth of the Gulf. On our way we saw the American 
built frigate Hellas, (Greece), called while in America, the 
Hope. The sight of this costly, but useful naval giant, 
gave positive assurance of the consolidation of Grecian 
Freedom. The solid oak-branches of Liberty's Tree, had 
returned from their western elysium back to 

" Our land, the first garden of Liberty's tree." 

Arriving at Spezzia, we distributed supplies to the widows 
whose husbands had been officers and sailors on the Gre- 



110 AMERICAN SUPPLIES. 

cian fleets, and perished in the unequal slriie. Spezzla and 
Hydra held out, alter iheir sisler Ipsara had fallen. Can?- 
ris, exiled from his native Ipsara, still displayed his skill 
and intrepidity in assaulting the Ottoman fleet, with his fire- 
ships. The Hydriole Miaulis, Tombasis, Sacturis, and 
Conduriottis, were dislinguished for their patriotism. The 
treasures of Conduriottis supported the fleet for years. In 
quitting Spezzia, the birth-place of the heroine Bubulcna, 
we sailed between the main land and Hydra, that indomi- 
table Hydra, which spread terror on the whole Ottoman 
coast. The city made a beautiful appearance. The mag- 
nificent mansions were perched in lofty positions, on the 
rocks and peaks of the precipitous coast, rising like an Am- 
phitheatre of Liberty impregnable, and immortal. This 
city was the only rival, in point of wealth and splendour, 
that Scio acknowledged among the Grecian communities. 
The white granite and marble of the princely residences, 
glittered in the sun beams, and betokened the opulence of 
the keystone of this modern Arch of State. The privile- 
ges gained by the Russian treaties with the Porte, during 
the preceding century, and the trade in forcing the English 
blockades of Spain, during the present, had contributed to 
render this island-rock a mine fertile in the veins of national 
improvement and independence. 

Passing beyond Hydra, we sailed to Poros, where most 
of the Hydriote vessels were generally moored. The Po- 
riotes, Hydriotes, and Spetzioies, are descended from the 
Greek Albanians of Epirus, and speak their language. 
Here we met Col. Miller, the gallant Green Mountain boy, 
who gave us a cordial reception. Athens, having been de- 
serted by the famishing garrison, their gallant French com- 
mander, Col. Fabvier, conducted them to jEgina and Poros. 



ii 



AMERICAN SUPPLIES. Ill 

The countryman of Lafayette, arriving at our quarters, 
was gratified in witnessing the labours of American Phil- 
helienism. His heart beat in response to the noble relief 
distributed to the orphans and widows of that place that 
gave the Athenians of old an hospitable reception when 
they fled from Athens. The Americans invited him and his 
officers to a social party, where they discussed the progress 
of the Revolution, and revived many national reminiscen- 
ces. A song was proposed. First, the Marseilles hymn 
excited calm solemnity; next the Ode of Rhigas, the Thes- 
salian, started enthusiasm; and then we all turned an -eye 
on the Americans for their song. A breathless pause en- 
sued, when suddenly we were thrown into a paroxysm of 
jollity by the irresistible Yankee Doodle, accompanied by 
stamps, which shook the dwelling, and inspired the citizens 
without. 

Col. Miller, in his Suliote costume, sang his national air 
with energy, and left an association of his personal worth 
with the spirit of poetry, the hero's meed. 

Leaving Poros, we sailed to ^gina, a small isle in the 
Saronic Gulf, which gave birth to King jEacos who holds 
the keys of Hades. There we landed, and met the starving 
Athenian fugitives. Standing there, they looked eastward, 
and saw their beloved Acropolis, occupied by the Turks, who 
had rehoisted the bloody Crescent upon the lofty Parthenon. 
The only consolation left was the association of the flight 
of the ancient Athenians to Salamis, which lay north of 
this point. Alas ! how altered from those glorious days of 
yore is the state of the present Athenians, when flight was 
the forerunner of victory. In those former times, Europe 
was saved by the Athenians from being overrun by the Per- 
sians ; but at this modern period, they were obliged to re- 
main at .Egina, whhout the means of existence, except by 



112 AMERICAN SXIPPLIES. 

foreign philanthropy. At this critical juncture, they met 
the good-natured gaze of the American agents of relief, who 
cast a sunshine in the hearts of despondent freemen. The 
smile of the re-invigorated children of Athens beamed with 
hope upon the gloomy prospect. The land and the sea 
were shaking with the conflicts between Kuitahee and Ka- 
raiskakis. The Athenians, on .^gina, glanced, at the 
flushes of the battle squadrons, around the shrine of Minerva, 
and panted for the recovery of their ancestral home. The 
temple of Pallas assumed a brilliancy from the past, while 
upon this isle the temple of Jupiter Panhellenius, shaken by 
the thunderbolts of Mars, echoed from the opposite coast, 
and announced the proximity of the deliverance of the 
classic soil. Supplies were immediately distributed to the 
suffering Athenian and other families. In order to render 
relief more advantageous, the men were paid from the Ame- 
rican charities, as labourers in constructing a wharf, at the 
principal port, which they named Howe's wharf, in com- 
memoration of the event. 

By this time I began to lose my titles ; the first loss 
occurre|d since our departure from the isle of Poros. Dr. 
Howe took into his service Panages, a Suliotc remnant of 
the band of Marco Bozzaris, and instituted him pipe-bearer 
and hoch/'guard. ■ 

My titles were now diminished to cook and treasurer. 

Our next voyage ended at Syra, the birth place of 
Simonides, where I had started upon my career, checkered 
with vicissitudes. Imagine the feelings of poor Christopher, 
in landing at the city, where he had followed the humble 
profession of a water-pedlar and mackerel dealer. A thou- 
sand ludicrous reminiscences crowded into his mind. There 
was the identical old stand, where he had dispensed the 
cooling beverage to the burning lips of beauty and pride. 



AMEBICAN SUPPLIES. 113 

He remembered the ludicrous attitude of those who were 
permitted to drink as much as they could, for one para, 
(one seventh of a cent.) Such twistings of the abdomen 
and swelHngs of the chest, made to obtain the money's 
worth, returned to his recollection, and excited inward 
laughter. In the suburbs, he saw the remains of the iden- 
tical jar, shivered to pieces by the sling of the envious com- 
petitor. What a change had come over the sufferer of that 
outrage ! Who would now dare insult Christopher under 
the wing of the American prince (as Dr. Howe was often 
called) ] The time which I had formerly spent in rinsing 
my tumbler, was now devoted to the lustre of my rifle- 
pistols, which occasion required to be always loaded. Rc- 
jKirt identified me, to my former rivals, and excited their 
wonder at the remarkable improvement, of which their pro- 
fession was capable. Of course, I patronized, in a friendly 
manner, my associates in misfortune, and made my visit to 
Hermopolis rich with gratification. The venerable Zygo- 
malas, who had been so kind to me, in former days, had 
been blessed by the unseen hand of Providence. Through 
the assistance of a rich son, at Trieste, he established a 
commercial house at Hermopolis, and ransomed two of his 
daughters from Turkish slavery. His gray hairs shone 
with a silver lustre of returning content, and nothing but a 
sigh for his Chian birthplace disturbed his joy. 

Food arid clothing were distributed to a motley mass of 
the destitute. It seemed that the coast of Asia Minor and 
the islands of the jEgean had sent their respective tokens of 
suffering irom every city, mountain and vale. Cydonians, 
Ipsarians. Chians, Smyrniotes and others entered upon 
Syra, and by their industry raised Hermopolis to its present 
condition, as the emporium of Greece. 

From Syra, we sailed to Paros, the Marble island. My 



114 AMERICAN SUPPLIES. 

aunt Lula, whom I had met there on a preceding voyage,^ 
was no longer present to renew the pulsations of my sorrow^ 
Since that time, the Cretan refugees had eaten the Parians, 
almost out of house and home. They ruled the community^ 
with their formidable rifles, and assured the authority of 
Minos with force as well as law. On seeing us arrive, some 
of the gigantic warriors, thinking that they had a better: 
right to relief than their proteges, demanded the supplies, 
and prepared to carry them off. This lowering aspect of a 
few hot-headed young men, reduced by want to despera- 
tion, had no effect in daunting the Americans. Dr. Howe 
replied that they would be considered in their turn, and 
adequately relieved, after the other refugees had been sup- 
plied ; he added that the supplies were not for warriors, 
but for suffering families. This firm retort satisfied them, 
and they remained quiet till their families received the at- 
tention of American charity. 

A few hours' passage, by sea, brought us to circular 
Naxos, the first flower of the Cyclades and the favourite isle 
of romantic Byron. Here we found fugitives from Asia, 
Scio, Crete and other places. A familiar rencontre created 
a pleasant association with this happy and peaceful abode. 
Whom should I meet there, but my brother Stephanos 
raised from his misfortunes to an official post over the 
regulars at Naxos. We sweetened our exile-cup with a 
few tears of joy, and prepared to separate. The ship set 
sail with a new passenger, George Finlay, Esq., a distin-* 
guished English Philhellen, a scholar and a man of wealth. 
After touching at various places, roving about like the good 
Samaritan, our ship reached Monembasia, a fortified city, 
on the southeastern side of the Peloponnesus. Sparta is 
not far from this place. Here we found refugees from the 
cruelty of Ibrahim Pasha, continually flocking in from the 



AMERICAN SOrPLIES. 115 

mountains, to this impregnable station. The sufferers were 
of a two-fold nature, the hungry and the wounded. The 
healing influence of Dr. Howe left ils impress on many a 
brove arm which had been arrested in ils glory by over- 
whelming numbers and by famine. Here we saw the Bey 
of Maina (king of Sparta) at an audience, with which we 
were favoured. His venerable beard descended upon his 
bosom, and he emphatically called the Americans his sons, 
and expressed his gratitude for their sympathy to his suffer- 
ing subjects. 

Christopher's fate began to undergo as many phases' as 
the Turkish Crescent. But the chief difference was that 
the moon was on her last phase, and he was on his second. 
This obscure allusion requires the moonshine of a sober 
explanation. One of Africa's sable daughters came like a 
cloud across his orbit, and eclipsed one of his titles, namely 
that of cook. Thus the negress left him with two titles, 
namely, that of the treasurer and steward. She had been 
captured by the Greeks in the city of Tripolitsa, and after- 
wards baptized, christened and received into the Greek 
Church, according to her desire. The doctor employed her 
for the ship, and found her to be an excellent hand in mak- 
ing bread with the American flour. Her taste partook of 
the Turkish and Greek, in table matters, and her skill was 
not unappreciated. She was a well-formed woman, and of 
a. virtuous character. From Monembasia, we sailed to 
Nauplion, where we were pained, on arriving, to learn the 
discord between Grivas, the commander of the lofty Pala- 
meda,»and Photomaras, a venerable Suliote chief, who held 
the fortress of the Ootscally. After a few days, in the 
midst of civil commotions, we hastened from the thunders 
of Greek meeting Greek, and returned to Poros, the point 



116 AMERICAN SUPELIES. 

from which we had first started on the relief voyage. A 
brig, laden with provisions, clothing and drugs, arrived from 
America. A comico-tragic scene followed upon shore, when 
the distributions commenced. Stout warriors threw off their 
ragged flowing tunics, and arrayed themselves in tights. - _ 
The transformation was instantaneous and farcical, attended 1 
with laughter and jesting. Some were ambitious of Ame- 
ricanizing the whole dress ; others mingled the Greek and 
American attire together. Some wore their caps to keep 
their hats from falling off*; others wore the pants for draw- 
ers, and the Greek tunic over them. Some wore the vest 
without the girdle ; others preferred to gird all their habili- 
ments without the aid of suspenders. The men had sober 
things to deal with, compared with the amusement of the 
women. The tight corsets and the Bishop's sleeves sent to 
them from the American ladies' associations, excited reit- 
erated peals of laughter. For convenience's sake, and to . 
save cloth, some used the sleeves as work bags, or shaped 11 
them into gowns for children, after unraveling the pucker 
and the plait. - v' 

Accompanying this vessel, arrived Dr. Russ, of-New 
York.- This distinguished Philhellen, as disinterested as 
he was skilful, opened and superintended a hospital at Poros. 
The cures which he effected upon the wounded soldiers, are 
tokens of the esteem which he elicits from the heart of every 
true Greek. I remember particularly two soldiers arriving 
to his care, and bringing the nev^s of the victory of Nava- 
rino. They belonged to the body of Greek sailors forced * j 
on board the ships of Egypt and the Porte. When \\h fleet l] 
was overthrown, they escaped wounded by the explosion of 
the powder magazine. Arriving at Poros, they seemed to 
have stept upon the platform of liberty, and rested their 



AMERICAN SUPl'LIES. 117 

aching frames upon the arms of the philanthropist of Ame- 
rica. The association of Dr. Russ, with this period, pre- 
sents the coincidence of European alliance and American 
friendship and relief. 

Mr. Stuyvesant, of New York, distinguished by his per- 
severing benevolence, even to the present moment, unites 
his name with many a Grecian heart. Such men left the 
circles of opulence and learning, braved the perils of the 
ocean, and gained that respect and love which every grate- 
ful Greek entertains for America. 

During these events Lord Cochrane visited Poros, having 
the frigate Hellas under his command. His gigantic sta- 
ture and his red hair made an impression, associated with 
English prowess, wandering to the classic soil on a pilgrim- 
age of martial pomp, to pay homage to the shades of Leon- 
idas and Themistocles, and to draw examples from Bozzaris 
and Canaris. 

The victory at Navarino, by the allied powers of Eng- 
land, France and Russia sealed Grecian freedom in the 
blood of five thousand Egyptians and Turks. Navarino is 
the Salamis of regenerated Greece. The French troops 
landed and assisted the Greeks in routing the Egyptians 
and Turks from the whole country. In the days of Grecian 
glory, Gauls were exterminated on the same spot where 
their descendants now came to extirpate the enemies of the 
Greeks. This turning of the tables, in favour- of law, reli- 
gion and humanity by the French, displays the gratitude of 
that gallant and polished people for the genius which they 
caught from the classic shores. Would to God that nation- 
ality should continue to base itself upon community of sen- 
timent and intellect, and no longer upon the natural bounda- 
ries which jealousy or hatred may interpose to separate the 



118 



AMERICAN SUPPLIES. 



human race into hostile armies ! The events of this date 
show that the epoch of universal union between nations is 
advancing. 



i 



^ 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 119 



CHAPTER IX. 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 



One of the ships which had brought charitable supplies, 
from America, was preparing to return. Dr. Howe warn- 
ed me to be ready. The very idea of visiting the glorious 
land of democracy buried all my sorrow on quitting home 
in the extacy of pleasurable anticipation. The desire of 
acquiring useful information had haunted me from infancy, 
and could be repelled by no visions of peril or suffering. 
The immense amount of scientiiicand historical lore, diffus- 
ed in the English language, required a voyage to America 
to understand and Incorporate in my own judgment. Long- 
ing after wisdom was the first passion that guided me through 
so many labyrinthlc windings from my native isle, to foreign 
shores. There was no sacrifice of personal comfort, nor 
irksome toil, which I would not cheerfully make to obtain 
the privilege of gaining nnstruction. 

Parting with friends before going abroad cost many tears, 
prayers, invocations to St. Nicolas and fond embraces. A 
few specimens of the Grecian race were snatched from the 
bleeding bosom of their mother and embarked on board the 
American ship. Three lads, Zachos, Anastakis, and Chris- 
topher, and a girl named Sappho, went forth like juvenile 
pilgrims to the new world, from their respective homes, 
Constantinople, Thebes, Megara and Scio. Under the 
charge of Dr. Howe and Mr. Stuyvesant they lefl the 
scenes of war and were soon under way to a land of peace. 



120 VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

As they sailed along, they gazed intently upon the lofty 
summits of Taygetus, and bade them an eternal adieu. 
Doubling Cape Matapan, they launched into the Ionian sea : r 
and were met by the angry gales almost forcing the|| 
ship back to Cithaera, the isle where they formerly brought 
Venus the goddess of beauty, from the foam of the Cyprian 
wave. The billows lashed our prow and stood like Tritons 
guarding Neptune, and hindering the children of his most 
faithful devotees from quiling their strand. But the Ameri- 
can ship, fearless of the earthshaking Diety, resisted his 
trident and breasted the onset of the waves. The roaring 
of the wind and the surges, the creaking of the timbers, 
and the breaking of the sea over the deck, excited terror in 
the juvenile wanderers. The shock of some huge wave 
vibrated through every nerve of their frames and destroyed 
repose and pleasure. Sea-sickness overthrew every earthly 
longing and made them drown all hopes in religious resig- 
nation. Then was the time for supplications to the Virgin 
and all the Saints of the Greek church. They turned their 
eyes to the picture of the Mother of Christ, and crossed 
themselves, begging her interposition in their behalf, at the 
Mercy seat, to save them from dangers upon the great 
waters. In the fervency of adoration they cried aloud to 
her for succor, and were answered by the laughter of the 
hardy tars. While their hearts were flowing with emotions j j 
of piety, and their eyes were moist with tears, the sailors ! I 
replied with a dry joke. Their superstition was a source of 
merriment to persons born beyond the influence of barbarous, i J 
cruel and ignorant Musulmans. The jocose bursts of jollity * | 
from the crew acted as useful reports of instruction, checking 
the tide of thoughtless worship. 

Christopher had a cross, asserted to have been a bit of 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 121 

the original tree to which the Saviour of mankind was 
nailed. He set great value upon it, supposing that salvation 
was derived from its possession, and christening it, Timion 
Xylon (inestimable wood). An accidental jostling from a 
powerful wave, while he was leaning over the bulwarks, 
caused it to drop overboard into the sea and float away. 
The loss of the Timion Xylon was felt as a great calamity ; 
tears of repentance flowed, and he made signs of the cross 
in rapid succession and uttered prayers with great fervency. 
The sign of the Greek cross differs from that of the Romish 
church only by joining the thumb and two first fingers for 
the Trinity, during the operation, and not by the plain open 
hand. These varieties are regarded of thrilling conse- 
quence and are subjects of debate and frequently excite 
virulent hostility and even blows between these sects. The 
aforesaid Timion Xylon had been tested in water; was 
blessed by the priest, and warranted to be a safeguard. 
Imagine then, Christopher's grief at the loss ; the dangers 
seemed to increase from that moment; the billows heaved 
more furiously ; the sky lowered more gloomily ; and in 
his dreams, he fancied that the angel Gabriel on horseback, 
had come to strangle him. Perhaps, however, this vision 
was only a night-mare^ like that by which the Arabian pro- 
phet was visited, when he made his trips to his falsely styled 
seventh Heaven. Still all hope was not lost ; every wave 
was not a whirlpool, nor every breeze a hurricane, as long 
as the portrait of St. Nicholas lay under his pillow. In 
times of great emergency, he ran below and tried to ap- 
pease the saint with kisses, crosses, prayers and invoca- 
tions. He regarded the Americans as Atheists, for their 
neglect of such forms, and for their contempt of such wor- 
ship. Their supposed impiety had no influence to discourage 
9 



122 VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

his devotion ; and in the severest weather, he prayed St. 
Nicholas to spare the sailors ; and while their thoughts were 
directed to reefing topsails, he fondly cherished the idea that 
their safety was owing to his persevering attention to sacred 
matters. Among the modern Greeks, St. Nicholas is con- 
sidered as the heir of the domains of Neptune, and the 
protector of ships and seamen. Churches are erected to 
him on capes and seaports. 

One night, a terrific storm swept the sea, and shook the 
ship with unwonted violence. The three Greek lads lay, 
all in one herth. Suddenly a mountain-surge nearly cap- 
sized the ship ; tossed them into a heap and then scattered 
them far and wide out of their couch. Fearing a watery 
grave, they vociferated most obstreperously to St. Nicholas, 
to save them from drowning. 

A furious blast came against them from that notorious 
Cape de Gat, of Spain, and kept the ship about its stormy 
neighborhood until they could not bear to look at the shore. 
Off Sierra Nevada, the lofty snow-capt mountain of Grenada, 
a chilly blast from the cavernous recesses of frost came 
below and made them shiver. 

On reaching the great pillars of Hercules, they gazed 
from the distance between them, and saw beyond them, the 
great Atlantic panting, with heaving bosom, to receive their 
frail bark beneath its stormy brow. On the left arose 
Abyla, (Apes Hill), in Africa, black and bleak; on the 
right, Calpe, (Gibraltar Rock) girt with fortifications, capt 
by towers, and bearing a city (Gibraltar) on the side, front- 
ing the land and the harbour. This immense fortress ap* 
pears so detached from every other eminence, and so lofty, 
that it may be compared to a fire-breathing, Argus-eyed, 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 123 

Hydra-headed monster, overlooking and commanding at 
once the ocean and the sea. 

As they entered the harbour of Gibraltar, on Christmas 
day, (1827), the beautiful scenery reminded Christopher of 
his native Scio. Oranges, grapes and olives were purchas- 
ed, and the taste of these productions awakened the emo- 
tions of his infancy. The red caps of the Spaniards, at a 
distance, resembling those of the Greeks, recalled the events 
of his life, with thrilling associations of war and peace. 
Some of the natives could speak Greek, and thus added 
a tone to the memory of the youthful wanderers. The 
ship remained several days in the harbour and took a 
supply of water, and a cargo of salt, quicksilver, and other 
articles. The thriving cities of Algesiras and Gibraltar, 
were noisy with boisterous jollity and business. 

On departing from the enchanting prospect, while nature 
seemed rejoicing in a robe of green, in spite of winter, a 
solemn ceremony of human life, mingled a gloomy shade 
with the smile of daylight. One of the American sailors, 
a boy, having died of illness, was thrown overboard in the 
harbour. The ship soon entered the straits and rode forth 
upon the vast expanse of the Atlantic. The beautiful city 
of Zariffa was the last view of human life which could be 
telescoped, and when the heights of Trafalgar and Spartel 
vanished, the broad Ocean commanded the prospect, and 
sent his billows leaping from the far horizon, and his 
breath of wintry chills to hinder the progress of the adven- 
turous bark. The spirit of tempest awoke with increased 
fury, threw the spray over the ship, without warning or 
ceremony. The Gulf Stream raised a host of clouds above, 
and resisted us with a double current, deluging the deck 
and hindering the keel. The monsters of the deep throng- 
ed in all directions, ranging freely in apparent contempt of 



124 VOYAGE TO AMEKICA. 

our slowness. Several whales sported with the towering 
billows, and made their playful defiance of the raging ele- 
ments contrast with the feeble and retarded efforts of frail 
man. In after voyages, I have not seen at once, so many 
wonders in the great waters. 

For several days, little could be eaten by the Greek 
wanderers, while terror kept appetite at bay. Finally, the 
concentrated hunger of many fasts, burst forth into one 
wild scene of carnivorous longing. Pork was reckoned 
palatable, and remained constantly on demand. The ship 
began to assume a domestic air, with kitchen associations. 

An English widow, whose husband was lost overboard 
during the voyage, was a passenger in the steerage with the 
Greek lads. Forgetful of her lost spouse, she was play- 
ful, well acquainted, and extremely odd. Her friends were 
objects of the most tasteful attention, for she presented them 
with sweet-meats, and allowed her favourites a ration of 
figs. Unluckily the Greek lads were set down in her mind 
as enemies, against whom, perpetual war was declared. 
Christopher, longing for a taste of the delicacies, could not 
be checked by neglect, but determined to pay tribute rather 
than lose a bite at the fruit. He offered her a shilling for 
two figs of Smyrna, and she agreed to the bargain. This 
brought on a pacification for a while, and left the political 
horizon clear of warlike forebodings. But her gastrono- 
mic grossness, and barbarous uncouthness, gave indications 
of an imminent rupture. The disgusting airs which she 
assumed at table, were ludicrous in the extreme. Her in- 
vasions upon cheese, and inroads upon butter, beyond the 
territorial boundary of propriety and equality, were a sub- 
ject of loud altercation and complaint on the part of the 
Greek boys. It was curious to observe with how much 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 125 

care, the hussy endeavoured to play knife and fork, in a 
lady-like manner. The insipid widow gave her fingers the 
most affected attitude, on eating before company, but in her 
private apartment, while feasting on delicacies, she exhibit- 
ed the most unceremonious and uncivilized greediness. 
Once with his imperfect English, aided by gesticulations, 
Christopher instituted a comparison between her manners, 
public and private, and mocked her peculiarities. The les- 
son was salutary and followed by some improvement, yet 
she could not bear to be taught by a lad, and meditated re- 
venge. While I was passing unsuspectingly in a brown 
study, promenading the deck, she rushed from ambush, 
armed with a paint brush, and making a furious onset, be- 
labored my cheeks with an unbecoming colour. Poor 
Christopher retreated to his quarters meditating retaliation. 
The two other lads were summoned to hold a council of 
war concerning the course to be pursued in punishing the 
aggressions of the widow on the sanctity of social decency. 
A messenger was sent to demand the alliance of the captain , 
mate, and all hands. They refused the proposals, and 
were next required to stand as umpires of the matter. No 
answer but jokes and laughter was returned. They all 
seemed to be interested in her favour, and I despaired of 
justice when the captain ordered me to go below. After 
some hesitation, the boys laid the subject before the cabin 
passengers, and received unanimous encouragement ; the 
Americans shouted " paint her face." Dr. Howe was then 
in another portion of the ship, writing his sketches on the 
Greek revolution, wholly unaware of the breaking out of 
hostilities between Greeks and the daughter of the mistress 
of the seas. The sanction of the Americans inspired the 
boys with ardor, and they opened a campaign immediately, 
on the retaliative system. After a little philosophical specula- 



126 VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

tion on hues and shades, we procured such tints as we 
thought would best throw her into undignified contrast with 
nature. Having armed ourselves with brushes, we loaded 
them, each with a different color. 

It was agreed to attack the hussy while she was arranging 
her toilet. Zachos burning with eagerness to avenge my 
insulted honour, rushed forward and drew a broad streak 
of blue across her left cheek ! Next Anastakis with similar 
impatience hurried forth and streaked her right cheek with 
his hldch. In the mean time, Christopher came furiously 
along with a large brush, and laid his red, all about her eyes 
and nose, and across the mouth and chin. She reared, kicked 
him over a chair, and ran up stairs calling for aid. Her 
eyes were so full of paint that she could hardly see, and 
was forced to shut them to avoid the pain. The laughter 
of the spectators was irrepressible. The mate hearing the 
confusion, arrived and exclaimed sarcastically, " Dear Eliza- 
beth, what is the matter?" At his solicitation, I brought a 
towel, and wiped, from her eye, the cause of the pain. But 
this benevolent service was no sooner ended, than she treated 
me with the rudeness engendered by passion. I was beaten 
about by her most unmercifully, until I seized her by the 
hair and threatened to box her ears if she would not com- 
promise. At this juncture, the black-eyed Greek girl, 
Sappho, appeared in a suppliant attitude and entreated me 
to spare the unfortunate Elizabeth. At last, after many 
screams and groans on both sides, and a great deal of 
scratching, a treaty of peace was signed by Elizabeth and 
Christopher in the presence of the laughing Greek and 
American witnesses. 

The effect of this affair was highly beneficial to secure a 
respectful demeanour on the part of our female opponent. 
Hei' effrontery ceased, and she consented to an equal division 



f 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 127 

o^ butter and cheese. Whenever there was not enough of 
one article for all, she submitted to the alternative of casting 
lots. Here then we see that Mars is the god of harmony 
and often of equal laws. 

Our captain was addicted to scolding and blasphemy. 
His profanity was shocking ; and the improper expressions 
which he used were remembered by the Greek boys, who 
through ignorance of their meaning, pronounced them often 
afterwards on shore, to the astonishment of the listeners. 
His severity|was very displeasing ; and if we appeared on 
deck, in stormy weather, he kicked us down the gangway. 
In all my recollections of the war-cries of the Turks, I 
found nothing so frightful as the guttural tones of the Eng- 
lish tongue, spoken by an angry and ill-natured seaman. 
He seldom was in good terms with the passengers, and the 
misbehaved tars were often bastinadoed, a la Turque. We 
had been at sea sixty days and were in the midst of the 
ocean ; I began to think that we should never see land 
again. During a storm, I fell upon my knees and implored 
St. Nicholas to save the ship, promising a beautiful illumina- 
tion to his holiness, if we reached safely the destined port. 
I resorted to the caboose and requested the cook to permit 
me to take all the tallow which he could spare from the 
candlesticks and allow me a portion of his stove to stand at, 
and make tapers in anticipation of fulfilling my vow. The 
favor was granted, and with a little sail-thread used as 
wicks I constructed a sufficient number of tapers to illumi- 
nate every part of the vessel. 

Many a time despairing of ever reaching land, I repented 
of my voyage an^ called aloud to my mother. 

Our fears increased, when the captain announced that 
the supply of water for each person would be limited to a 



128 VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

smaller quantity. As usual, the water-casks had very- 
large bung-holes, into which, an hand pump was introduced, 
until the stated quantum was abstracted, and then said pump 
was locked in the Captain's closet, to prevent the passen- 
gers and crew, from diminishing the supply at will. 
The Greek lads lying under peculiar interdictions were 
oppressed for several hours with a burning thirst, which 
made them cry for a little water to cool their tongues. Being 
refused, they reached desperation, and were driven by 
suffering to a crafty expedient. They held a consultation 
and formed a conspiracy to assail a large cask near their 
bed. Christopher kept under his pillow a little flinjan, so 
called, a Turkish under-cup, which he attached to a ring, 
and aided by a string, dropped it into the barrel through the 
bung-hole, and drew it out filled wtth a refreshing draught. 
Their watchword being Colocotrones, in the mean time, one 
of the boys stood sentinel at the gangway, and the other at 
the caboose, so that if any one approached, they shouted 
Colocotrones, whereupon Christopher pocketed the flinjan 
and wiped the cask with a handkerchief. In that manner, 
their tliirst was partially allayed, by a process more roguish 
than exemplary. 

Their curiosity could not fathom the science of taking an 
observation of the sun. The aiming of the qnadrant, the 
squinting of the eye, the reports of the degrees, and the slate 
calculations, all haunted their guessing faculties to discover 
the secret springs of navigation. One of the lads thought 
that magic was employed to foretell distances like that em- 
ployed by Astrologers to tell fortunes. 

Feelino; the utmost confidence in one of the sailors at the 
helm, I asked him frequently how many miles remained to 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 129 

reach New York. As I was unacquainted with the English 
language, he took his fingers, as indices, and clapped his 
hands together as many times as there were tens of miles 
in the remaining part of the voyage* At the same time the 
sailors anxiously watched the report, and longed for land. 

The most miserable and patient being on board was a 
native Grecian dog, Poros, named thus from the island 
where we embarked. The lads made a pet of him, and 
cheered him over the stormy wave. The sailors also con- 
.ceived an affection for Poros, and lavished so much atten- 
tion upon the hapless brute that the captain, in an evil hour, 
declared hostility against him. The animal was terrified at 
his approach, and dared not resist when, for amusement, he 
balanced him on the rigginoj. 

Once, in a storm, Poros was running about over the deck, 
and chanced to slip between the captain's heels. Where- 
upon enraged, he caught the animal by the tail and threw 
him overboard. Elizabeth was delighted to see his ruin and 
our sadness. The cause of her dislike was his habit of 
intruding into her apartment. 

Dr. Howe assisted the Greek lads during the passage in 
reading the original New Testament and the history of 
America. The account of Columbus's discovery inspired 
them with increased anxiety to arrive. They determined 
like him, to kiss the soil if they should ever reach it. The 
sight of a few ships restored confidence, and warned them 
of their proximity. 

After a passage of nearly three months, the chilly air off* 
soundings began to assail them. A wintry mist surrounded 
them with Cimmerian darkness, like that which Ulysses 
met in his voyages. 



130 



VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 



" When lo ! we reached old ocean's utmost bounds, 
Where rocks control his waves, with ever daring mounds, 
There in a lonely land and gloomy cells 
The dusky nation of Cimmeria dwells ; 
The sun ne'er views Ih' uncomfortable seats, 
When radiant he advances or retreats : 
Unhappy race ! whom endless night invades, 
Clouds the dull air, and wraps them round in shades." 



ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. 131 



CHAPTER X. 



ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. 



Terrified by the thick fogs, the Greek boys imagined 
that they were about to enter the abodes of gloom and horror. 
In Greece, excepting Boeotia, mists are ahiiost nnknown. 
In the midst of unwelcome and dreary anticipations, a far 
more beautiful and cheering prospect than they had ex- 
pected, was revealed by the dispelled mist, and almost in 
an instant burst upon the vision like some fairy dream. 
America greeted them, arrayed in a gorgeous robe of snow. 

They had left the ruins of a nation, and were in view of 
a people just risen to commercial greatness. Every object 
was changed from old to new. The Greeks gazed on 
America in silent wonder. New York at last presented 
itself to their view, with her towering spires, her ships and 
steamboats roaming abroad, or sheltered under her wings, 
and all that tide of commercial prosperity, ebbing and flow- 
ing at the bidding of the mighty Hudson. The numerous 
and splendid monuments of art and trade made us even 
forgetful of what Greece had lost amid the terrific struggle 
for liberty. 

The Greek youths raised their hands to heaven, thajiked 
the Virgin, St. Nicholas and Christ, and prepared to perform 
the promise of an illumination to the patron of mariners. 

The tapers were brought forward with pious reverence 
and ceremonious pomp in a cigar-box. They were then 
singly stationed around the vessel and lighted. The cap- 



132 ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. 

tain in utter amazement demanded what I meant. I then] 
explained, as well as I was able, the reason of the rite, anc 
showing them the saint's picture, I kissed it, and pronouncec 
the name of St. Nicholas, and gesticulated in a mode to' 
denote the protection, which he had afforded his vessel. 
The captain and crew excited by the association of sacred 
arid profane ideas, gave way to noisy laughter. Zachos, 
my assistant in the ceremony, persevered in spite of re- 
proach, and contributed fresh tapers to the illumination. 

Before leaving the captain I informed him in a pantomimic 
manner rather than with English words how I had secretly 
obtained our supply of water. He winked like a yankee, 
and told me no doubt, "I'll remember you, old boy !" 

On landing, the boys dressed in their national costume, 
jumped on the wharf, made the sign of the cross with the 
thumb and two first fingers, and kissed the ground, in imi- 
tation of Columbus. Hundreds of boys surrounded us and 
many offered us money and fruit. 

Having been accustomed to see the Greek ladies wearing 
a slight fes (gold wrought cap), hardly covering the crown 
of the head, we were surprised at the extensive bonnets, 
cavernous and light, which surrounded the face of Broadway 
beauty. On inquiring their name we were answered by 
the term " Navarino." " Pooh," said Christopher, in his 
native language, " that was burnt up !" 

Trudging through the snow was a tiresome novelty on 
foot and a pleasurable entertainment in a sleigh. The 
sharp cutting cold was almost intolerable. 

We remained with Dr. Howe three weeks at the hospita- 
ble mansion of Peter Stuyvesant, Esq. The first English 
phrase which I acquired to perfection, during the cold snap, 
was "shut the door!" The peculiar frequency of conso- 



ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. 133 

nants in the language, combined with guttural tones, gave 
the most good natured speaker's voice an appearance of 
scolding. During my stay at Mr. Stuyvesant's, the New 
York girls and boys exhibited a generous sympathy for my 
condition, which I shall never forget. Their attentions and 
politeness to me, more than confirmed all that I had antici- 
pated of the kind and noble hearted youth of America. 
Whenever they visited me, they lavished presents of various 
sorts, calculated to ensure my gratitude and love. Once 
while I was besieged with juvenile visiters, I cast my eye 
upon one American boy who resembled my brother Deme- 
trius. Unable to restrain the emotion associated with^the 
coincidence, and not sufficiently acquainted with English to 
express my mind, I burst into a fraternal greeting in my 
native language, rushed from my position and embraced 
him, bestowing kisses upon his brow. This burst of tender- 
ness excited amazement, but in Greece this kind of saluta- 
tion is universal. 

At a public address on Greece, by Dr. Howe, I was de- 
lighted to witness the American philhellenism. Tears 
flowed from m.any an eye while Dr. Howe was describing 
the miseries of the Greeks. The three Greek boys, dressed 
in their native costume, were present and placed on a con- 
spicuous place on the platform. One of the generous con- 
tributors, having dropped two hundred dollars, took by the 
hand Christopher, and accompanied him around the hall to 
receive the donations of the friends of his country. The 
collection was a generous index of the praiseworthy zeal 
and active humanity of the citizens of New York. A great 
sum of money was collected that night ; the hat which I 
passed around was full of bills. 

The family of Mr. Stuy vesant received the poor wander- 



134 ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. 

ers to their welcome hearth and treated them with parental 
attention. The remembrance of so much disinterested 
philanthropy inspires the heart of tlie Chian exile with grati- 
tude and respect. The sacred rite of ablution to voyagers 
from a far land, performed on our little band, associates the 
name of the mother of that family with patriarchal hospi- 
tality. To meet with oriental favors from a nation so dis- 
tant, endeared their affections to everything connected with 
exile. We had been banished, by want, to a home equiva- 
lent to that which we had lost by Turkish invasion. 

From the exile-befriending city of New York, I was 
wafted by steamboat to New Haven, where Stephanos 
Galates and brother, and Constantino Ralles and brother 
congratulated me in sharing the benefits of their home-like 
exile. These young Sciotes were students in Yale College. 
From this place, we went by stage to Boston. The view of 
the thick forests, on the bosom of scenery, excited my deep- 
est astonishment and admiration. The passion of the Ame- 
ricans to spare and cherish nature is a praiseworthy trait. 
The bountiful care of Providence is acknowledged by the 
face of the country; the hills repose under a drapery, 
shining with green foliage, or glittering with transparent 
icicles ; and the valleys teem with habitations and temples of 
piety, industry and wisdom. The means of education seem 
to be engrafted on the forest, and planted in the remotest 
field. No improvement is confined to the city alone, but 
the seeds of good works are cast upon the soil and the wa- 
ters, producing an hundred fold under the skilful care of 
the Christian labourer. Aristocratic Europe may draw 
lessons from democratic America, and learn that not only 
the city, but the hamlet and the cottage, and the houseless 
exile himself in this enlightened land may govern the mind, 



ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. 135 

and receive their share of public love and reverence, un- 
hindered by titles, degrees, and the mummery of pedigree 
and etiquette ! 



ARRIVAL IX BOSTON. 

On arriving at Boston, I met the consolations of that 
energetic community, and found many a friend of Chian 
sufferers. Dr. Howe's father's house became my home. 
What a source of delight is derived from freedom unsophis- 
ticated and without bigotry ! The Protestants everywhere 
display a charity which never faileth. Superstition cannot 
resist such open-hearted and clear-minded arguments. I 
began to change my ideas of religion, and was almost 
persuaded to be a Protestant ; yet the generous, mild and 
indulgent character of that sect looks more to opinion than 
to formality, and desires not to convert the body but the 
soul. Such liberty allowed me to remain as 1 was, a Greek 
in church, but a Protestant in feeling. 

By the assistance of a Boston ladies association, and 
through Mrs. Laura P. Hill, daughter of Rev. Dr. Porter, of 
Catskill, I was admitted into the Mount Pleasant Classical 
Institution at Amherst, conducted by Drs. Colton and Fel- 
lows. At that beautiful school were several Greeks ; Gre- 
gory A. Perdicares and Mengouses, (teachers ;) and Con- 
stantme Fundulakes, (now no more,) John Zachos, Chris- 
topher Evangeles, and the Chian Paspates, (scholars.) 

I express my gratitude to the principals of this institution 
for their liberality to me and to all the Greeks there, and 
particularly for the kind attentions of one of my English 
teachers, namely, John E. Lovell, Esq. This gentleman 
led the Greeks in the path of elocution with patience and 



136 ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. 

success, in spite of our imperfect knowledge of the English 
language. 

The beautiful scenery at Amherst, connected with boyish 
sport, occupies a field of lively and promising associations j 
in my memory. After two years, I quitted that delightful || 
spot with regret, and returned to Boston. ' 

I entered Crocker & Brewster's printing office, and was 
desirious of gaining a new title in addition to those which I 
had been forced by want to assume, since the time when I 
adopted self-banishment from Scio, to avoid being punished 
with death as a runaway captive. The name of printer's 
devil, associated with my preceding offices, may be regarded 
as an improvement on all the preceding. What is a more 
intellectual title? even count and marquis may fall to an un- 
deserving individual, but no one can usurp the insignia of 
printer^s devil, without performing the works that belong 
to that noble profession, honored by the gigantic-minded 
Franklin. 

The Boston climate proved prejudicial to my health and 
interrupted my occupation. The final proceeds of the 
Greek committee amounting to a sufficiency to defray the 
expense of returning to Greece, were placed in my hands 
by Henry Hill, Esq., treasurer A. B. F. M. Thus in six 
months I was reduced, by the severity of the climate, to > 
relinquish my favorite vocation, and bid adieu to America, 
after two years and a half of delightful associations. 

The change wrought upon the Chian exile's mind, willi j 
appear in the succeeding narration, and show the beneficial 
influence of American society to dispel superstition. The 
friends of Greece can perceive the effect of their institutional' | 
upon a nation which looks to America as the Elysiunn o(^ 
its hopes and prayers. 



EETURN TO GREECE. 137 



CHAPTER XI. 



RETURN TO GREECE. 



I EMBARKED on board a ship bound for Malta, in com- 
pany with the missionary Rev. Mr. Temple, and family. 
A prosperous voyage of only thirty-nine days brought us 
to this islet of thrilling associations. Here the great apostle 
of the Gentiles was shipwrecked, and in a neighboring 
isle was the abode of Calypso, who hospitably received 
Ulysses and grieved to part with him. The Maltese ladies 
are even at present, attractive for their personal charms, and 
would be also agreeable in mental qualities, if their jaw- 
cracking, coarse and guttural dialect did not distort almost 
truth itself. They often ape Italian and murder English, 
but never think of polishing their own tongue, a vulgar 
branch of the Arabic. Scarcely a book in Maltese is 
found, much less read. The parents follow the bad policy, 
of instructing their sons either not at all, or in every dialect 
except the native. Their sons grow up ignorant, supersti- 
tious and piratical. The Maltese are numerous, consider- 
ing that the whole extent of the island is only twenty miles 
by twelve, and the inhabitants occupying this tract amount 
to one hundred thousand. But this great population is con- 
fined to a small part of the island ; for the most of the sur- 
face is one continued series of tremendous forts, which, 
combined, are said to be almost as powerful as Gibraltar. 
The immense quantity of warlike stores, placed there by 
the English, are sufficient evidence that the mistress of the 
10 



138 RETURN TO GREECE. 

seas intends to make an attempt to subdue all nations to 
her sway. The trenches and tunnels cut through the soft 
rock give the island the semblance of a vast labyrinth of 
destruction. The shade of Calypso could no longer re- 
cognize the trace of her natural glory and hospitable hearth. 
Rapacity and ambition occupy the home of love and peace. 

Gozo, an islet, five miles northwest of Malta, appears to 
have been anciently united with its companion. Between 
them, as where two seas met, St. Paul was wrecked at a 
place, now called St. Paul's Harbour. The fertility of Gozo 
entitles it to have been the favourite haunt of Calypso and 
Ulysses. But although the prevailing notion assigns these 
islets to the scenes of the Odyssey, I may be pardoned for 
introducing a wholly different opinion upon the subject, 
which may appear at least novel, if not plausible. In my 
rambles through America in my late visit, I have been fre- 
quently requested to publish a treatise upon this question. 
I shall not pretend to quote any reflections of my own, but 
beg the indulgence of my readers to an exposition from the 
mind of a distinguished philologist of Russia. 

We cite a treatise composed in the Russian language, by 
the political counsellor, Basil Capnistes, and translated into 
Greek by Constantino Artenos. The author was born, and 
educated in Russia ; he is known as an excellent poet and 
philologist. Descended from a Greek noble family of Zacyn- 
thus, he resided in Lesser Russia, in the province of Poltan. 
The translator, a native Greek, M'as born at Nisna, studied 
at the University of Moscow, and completed his education 
at Vienna. The former was an officer, the latter a mer- 
chant at Odessa, and the learning and good taste of these 
two praiseworthy men appear in the following singular 



KETUKN TO GREECE. 139 

essay. Artenos was author of a Russian lexicon, grammar 
and chrestomathy, for the use of his fellow countrymen. 

For the sake of the literary class of readers, this essay 
will be cited at large from the Logios Hermes (Literary 
Mercury,) a Greek Periodical published by Kokkinaky, of 
Scio, in Vienna, Austria, 1819. ^ 

THE OPINION THAT ULYSSES WANDERED NOT OVER THE 
MEDITERRANEAN, BUT THROUGH THE BLACK SKA AND 
SEA OF AZOPH. 

I fear that many, even the learned, after reading the 
statement of the subject, will condemn me without examina- 
tion. Before I learn their decision concerning my lately 
published proposition to transfer the fifth rhapsody of the 
Odyssey to the first, how dare I, contrary to ancient and 
commonly received accounts, remove the theatre of the 
wanderings of the hero of this poem from the western side 
of Italy to the southern shores of my native land, Russia? 
I confess that such audacity frightens even myself, as I 
foresee that certain prejudiced readers will, if possible, seize 
by force my pen, ink and paper, and deliver me to the 
charge of a discretionary committee, until my recovery from 
supposed insanity. Should I then keep silence? But my 
pious regard for the father of poetry hinders me from con- 
descending to such pusillanimity. Out of respect for the 
chief of bards, I hear my conscience continually vociferating 
" Since you have determined to justify him for one accusa- 
tion, endeavour to deliver him from another, still more 
weighty ; demonstrate that he has not transferred the Cya- 
nean rocks from the Euxine Sea to the Straits of Messina, 
nor removed Circe, daughter of the sun, from the house of 
Eo (dawn), from the east and the environs of Colchis, to 



140 WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 

the western shores of Italy ; that he has not transplanted 
thither the Phseacians, far distant, and at first unknown to 
Ulysses, to the island of Corcyra (Corfu) which is only 
about 75 miles from his beloved Ithaca ; your conscience 
will continue to torment you, if from cowardice you do not 
proceed farther, to defend the immortal Homer from the 
assaults of men, blinded by prejudice." 

To all these instigations what should I reply ? Nothing 
less than the deposition of my opinion to learned and can- 
did readers. Here then, I perform my task, and expose to 
the general clemency my concise opinion. 

The principal circumstance which indicates that Ulysses 
wandered over the Black Sea is, that Homer refers to it, on 
returning from Circe, sailing twice between the Cyanean 
Rocks. (See Odyssey, Rhap. xii. 3, 4. Herodotus iv. 85. 
Odyss. xii. 61, 234, 428, 430.) 

It is evident that what we call Symplegades or Planetes, 
(Erratic) were found at the passage from the Thracian 
Bosphorus to the Black Sea. There were also Scylla and 
Charybdis. Wherefore Homer, through Circe, first makes 
them known to Ulysses. (Odyss. xii. 69-110.) 

High o'er the main, two rocks exalt their brow, 
The boiling billows thundering roll below ; 
Thro' the vast waves the dreadful wonders move, 
Hence named Erratic b)' the Gods above. 
No bird of air, no dove of swiftest wing, 
That bears ambrosia to th' ethereal king. 
Shuns the dire rocks : in vain she cuts the skies, 
The dircTocks meet and crush her as she flies; 
Not the fleet bark when prosperous breezes play. 
Ploughs o'er that roaring surge its desperate way ; 
O'erwhelm'd it sinks : while round a smoke expires. 
And the waves flashing seem to burn with fires. 



WANDERINGS. OF ULYSSES. 141 

Scarce the famed Ar^o passed these raging floods, 
The sacred Argo, filled wilh demi-gods ! 
E'en she had sunk, but Jove's imperial bride 
Winged her fleet sail, and pushed her o'er the tide. 

High in the air the rock its summit shrouds. 

In brooding tempests and in rolling clouds; 

Loud storms around, and mists eternal rise, 

Beat its bleak brow and intercept the skies. 

Wlien all the broad expansion, bright with day 

Glows with th' autu:nnal or the summer ray ; 

The summer and tlie autumn glow in vain, 

The sky forever lowers, forever clouds remain. 

Impervious to the step of man it stands, 

Tho' borne by twenty feet, tho' arm'd with twenty hands. 

Smooth as the polish of the mirror, rise 

The slippery sides and shoot into the skies. 

Full in the centre of this rock displayed, 

A yawning cavern casts a dreadful shade : 

Nor the fleet arrow from the twanging bow, 

Sent with full force, could reach the depth below. 

Wide to the west, the horrid gulf extends. 

And the dire passage down to Hell descends. 

O, fly the dreadful sight ! expand thy sails 

Ply the strong oar and catch the nimble gales ; 

Here Scylla bellows from her dire abodes 

Tremendous pest, abhorr'd by man and Gods I 

Hideous her voice, and with less terror roar. 

The whelps of lions in the midnight hour. 

Twelve feet deformed and foul the fiend dispi-eads ; 

Six horrid necks she rears, and six terrific heads ; 

Her jaws grin dreadful with three rows of teeth : 

Jaggy they stand, the gaping den of death ; 

Her parts obscene the raging billows hide ! 

Her bosom terribly o'erlooks the tide. 

When stung with hunger, she embroils the flood, 

The sea-dog and the dolphin are her food ; 

She makes the huge leviathan her prey. 

And all the monsters of the watery way ; 



142 WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 

The swiftest racer of the azure plain 

Here fills her sails and spreads her oars in vain ; ^ 

Fell Scylla rises, in her fury roars, 

At once six mouths expand, at once six men devours. 

Close by, a rock of less enormous height 

Breaks ihe wild waves, and forms a dangerous strait; 

Full on its crown a lig's green branches rise 

And shoot a leafy forest to the skies ; 

Beneath, Charybdis holds her boisterous reign 

'Midst^roaring whirlpools, and absorbs the main. 

Thrice in her gulfs the boiling seas subside, 

Thrice in dire thunders, she refunds the tide. 

O, if thy vessel plough the direful waves 

When seas retreating roar within her caves, 

Ye perish all I though he who rules the main 

Lends his strong aid, his aid he lends in vain. 

Ah, shun the horrid gulf! by Scylla fly, 

'Tis better six to lose, than all to die. 

From the above accounts, it appears clear that the C^^ 
nean Rocks, or Symplegades, or Planetes, are found in one 
and the same place with Scylla and Charybdis, if they are 
not, identical. Hence, it is not wonderful that succeeding 
writers, leaving the former by the passage from the Thracian 
Bosphorus into the Black Sea, transferred the latter to the 
Straits of Messina. (Herodotus, IV. 85. Apol, Rhod. Ar- 
gonaut. I. 20. 59. 786. Valerius Flacci Argon. IV. 581. 
^neid, JIT. 561.) 

But prejudiced readers will tell me that the general tra- 
dition of the old Geographers, assigning the aforesaid strait, 
both Scylla and Charybdis, must have weight and demand 
at least, a fundamental refutation. I agree ; and it is not 
at all difficult to do this with the aid of the immortal Ho- 
mer; since there is scarcely any doubt that Homer himself. 



WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 143 

or rather the general respect for him, has caused the re- 
moval of those famous locahties. 

After the return of Jason, from Colchis, the Thracian 
Straits became better known to the Greeks ; the wander- 
ing rocks were fixed firmly in their stations ; the rapacious 
Scylla retired from her cavern, and the sea-monster Charyb- 
dis was no longer dangerous to experienced seamen, and 
lastly their memory was recorded only in the Rhapsodies of 
the Odyssey. After a long lapse of years, the Greeks, 
who began to extend their colonies to the western shores of 
Italy, in their voyages thither were obliged to pass through 
the Straits of Messina, where they met, not only difficulties, 
but dangers which are even now experienced by small craft. 
(Geograph. Phys. de la Mer Noire, et de la Med. par Dur- 
rau de la Maille fils, p, 322, 323. 336. 338.) 

The first navigators who were wrecked there, supposed 
them, certain frightful places, like the Scylla and Charybdis 
of Homer. Their' fame was diffi.ised abroad, and, by de- 
grees, became universal, so that the credulous Greeks re- 
joiced, thinking that they had revealed the mythological 
monsters of the Bosphorus. Time and the mutilations of 
the poems of Homer confirmed, from superficial observa- 
tion, this application of the terms, and consigned them to 
succeeding ages. 

In my opinion, then, such is the reason why Scylla and 
Charybdis were removed to the Straits of Messina. But 
the broad passage between Italy and Sicily precluded all 
supposition of the Cyanean Rocks being there, consequently 
the Greek friends of fable allowed the Erratic Symplegades 
to remain at their true place, in the passage from the Thra- 
cian Bosphorus into the Black Sea ; and from this circum- 
stance arose the separation of these places which the- father 



144 WANDERINGS OP ULYSSES. 

of poetry had united. (Odyss., XII. 61,73, 85, 10], 104, 
235 ; XXIII. 326, 327.) 

Having shown the discordance of succeeding writers with 
the tradition of Homer, and having assigned to Scylla and 
Charybdis their first location, I conclude with reason, that 
Ulysses, returning from Circe to Ithaca, after he had sailed 
between the wandering rocks of Bosphorus, been ship- 
wrecked and had drifted back by the hurricane through the 
same passage, must have found himself in the midst of the 
Black Sea, and was cast upon the shore of the island of 
Ogygia occupied by Calypso. 

Another circumstance, establishing the same truth, is the 
stay of Ulysses at the residence of Circe, the sister of 
iEetes, King of Colchis. Her kindred, doubtless, on ac- 
count of the difficulty of navigation in those days, must 
have lived in the immediate neighborhood. Homer assigns 
the situation of this island at the dwelling of the choirs of 
the dawn, and by the rising of the sun. (Odyss. XII. 2, 4.) 
This forbids our locating Circe on the western shore of 
Italy, or the realm of the Cyclopes of the ^plian isle, or 
that of the Lsestrigons from which Ulysses came to Circe. 

Another circumstance to the same effect, is the descrip- 
tion of the nation of the Cimmerians hidden in darkness and 
mist, to the limits of which Ulysses went, coming from Circe's 
isle, to call the shades from the realms of Pluto and converse 
with them. (Herodotus, IV. 12.) The acutest critics saw that 
the description of this portion made with poetic hyperbole 
alludes nevertheless to a certain place lying north of the 
Black Sea, whence, highly improbable is the assertion of 
those who contend for the western shores of Italy. (Odyssey 
XI. 11 — 19.) The description, in the poem, bears no ne- 
cessary reference to Italy and the soil of Campania and 



I 



1 



WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 145 

Lake Avernus, declared to be seventy-five miles from the 
dwelling of Circe. 

The doubts of writers who place near it the abode of 
shades whom Ulysses accosted, must appear evident, and 
surprise every one who is unprejudiced, when we add that 
Sicily was known to Homer by its proper name, (Odyss. XX. 
383, XXIV. 211, 366, 389,) and that he could not assign 
to the eastern shores of Italy, lying opposite to it, the land 
of the nation concealed by perpetual darkness. 

The most remarkable circumstance confirming the suppo- 
sition, that Ulysses wandered to the borders of the Black 
Sea, is rendered still more probable by the local position of 
Phseacia, whither he was borne by the whirlwind, without 
sailing back through Scylla and Charybdis. From many 
passages in the Odyssey it appears that this spot was very 
far from Ithaca and Greece, and that by no means could 
any one suppose it on the island of Corcyra (Corfu) as the 
scholiasts of the poem have almost unanimously asserted. 
(Odyss. IX. 18.) 

In opposition to their opinions, 1 refer to the words of 
Nausicaca, daughter of Alcinous, king of the Phseacians. 
When Ulysses first appeared there she exclaimed (Odyssey 
VI. 199 — 205.) " Stand, whither do we fly, maidens, 
fearing this man 1 Do you think that he is our enemy ? 
But as yet no foe has had the audacity to invade Phseacia. 
We are beloved by the Immortals, and inhabit a country 
separate and far distant from all others, in the midst of the 
billowy deep, at the extremity of the earth ; nor does any 
foreign mortal mingle with us." 

Could these words refer to the island of Corfu, which is 
separated from the continent only by Thesprotia, a narrow 
strait well known to Homer ? (Odyssey XIV. 315. XIX. 271. 
287. 293.) 



146 



WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 



But perhaps the critics will reply that Ulysses sailing 
from Phseacia arrived in one night at Ithaca. But I object, 
that with such rapid ships as the Phseacian of Alcinous, a 
more than ordinary space could have been sailed over in 
one night. (Odyss. VIII. 555, 563. VII. 317. 326.) 

The King says to Ulysses : 

Say, from what city, and what regions tost, 
And what inhabitants those regions boast ? 
So shall thou instant reach the realm assigned 
In wondrous ships self moved, instinct with mind, 
No helm secures their course, no pilot guides ; 
Like man intelligent they plough the tides, 
Conscious of every coast, of every bay 
That lies beneath the sun's all-seeing ray. 
Though clouds and darkness veil th' encumbered sky. 
Fearless through darkness and through clouds they fly ; 
Though tempests rage, tlio' rolls the swelling main. 
The seas may roll, the tempest rage in vain. 
E'en the stern God who o'er the wave presides 
Safe as they pass, and safe repass the tides, 
With fury burns ; while careless they convey 
Promiscuous every guest to every bay. 

TV" vv* vf^ ^ tP 

Jove bids to set the stranger on his way 

And ships shall wait thee with the morning ray. 

Till then, let slumber close thy careful eyes, 

The wakeful mariner shall watch the skies ; 

And seize the moment when the breezes rise, 

Then gently waft thee to the pleasing shore 

Where thy soul rests and labor is no more. 

Far as Euboea tho' thy country lay. 

Our ships with ease transport thee in a day. 

Thither of old earth's giant sons to view. 

On wings of wind with Rhadamanth they flew. 

This land from whence their morning course begun 

Saw them returning with the setting sun. 



WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 147 

With sucli wonderful ships, Ulysses could well pass, 
without danger, Scylla and Charybdis, and in one night 
I'each his native land. Such an idea was highly necessary 
to the poet, in order to avoid the description of the same 
places already mentioned, and to accomplish betimes, his 
design, the winding up of his piece. Such is the character 
of his genius, surprising the mind by a sudden transition, 
to avoid tautology. « 

My persuasion of the truth of the above assertions, and 
a faithful comparison of the traditions of the Odyssey, have 
strengthened me in the opinion, that the wanderings of 
Ulysses must have proceeded along the shores of the Black 
Sea. Subsequently then, at the passage from the Thracian 
Bosphorus into the Euxine, near the Cyanean Rock, Planetes 
or Erratic Symplegades, I found Scylla and Charybdis in 
the Straits of Constantinople. The' habitation of Circe, in 
my opinion, lay on the shore of Lake Mseotis (Sea of 
Azoph), at the mouth of the river Aea, the name of whicli 
Circe had brought from her own country, after marrying 
the king of Sarmatia. In regard to the Cimmerians, con- 
cerning whom there are many fables, I have assigned their 
residence to the northern coast of the Euxine, near the gulf 
formerly called Necropyle. As to the Metropolis of the 
Phceacians, with its double harbor and petrified ship, I place 
it on the southern shore of Tauris near the present valley 
of Otouz. 

Omitting to speak of other places of minor importance, 
to which Homer alludes, without assigning a definite loca- 
tion, I am waiting to see what decision the learned will 
make concerning my principal conjectures in regard to this 
curious subject. I am aware that many contradictions may 
be produced by critics against me, supported not only by 



148 WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 

the traditions of ancient authors of celebrity but by testi- 
mony adduced from the Odyssey itself; and consequently, 
I am obliged to assert beforehand, that a great number of 
spurious passages have crept into that excellent poem, fabri- 
cated since Scylla and Charybdis were transferred to the 
Straits of Messina. This removal gave birth to others 
similar, because, in order to make the traditions of the 
father of poetry harmonize, certain learned men arose who 
began to give to places, near Scylla and Charybdis, names 
taken from the Odyssey, and these have been sanctioned by 
time. Also, at that period, Sicily, which was known to 
Homer under its usual name, was metamorphosed to Trina- 
cria, and became the country of the Cyclopes, conformable 
with the northern ArimaspsB. (Odyss., XX. 583 ; XXIV. 
211, 356, 389; XI. 106; XII. 127; XIX. 275.) 

The southern Cimmerians were transplanted by the same 
error to the western part of Italy. (Herodotus, III. 96; 
IV. 13, 27.) 

After this', it seems also that the sister of the King of 
Colchis, Circe was transported to the present Circgean Pro- 
montory. (Herodotus, IV. 12.) 

The winds blew from any quarter whatever, according 
to the fancy of Homer's commentators, and the heavenly 
orbs were transposed by their arbitrary will ; in fine, all the 
error arose from the transfer of the celebrated locations of 
Scylla and Charybdis. 

I terminate this exposition sincerely praying, that my 
bold discussion may meet with a friendly reception on the 
part of my learned readers, and that the novelty of my pro- 
positions may not be regarded, without examination, as the 
blindness of a man wishing only to differ from others by 
the extravagance of his ideas. I dare persuade them that 



WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. , 149 

the sole desire of revealing the truth inspired me to under- 
take this bold task, and that being sensible of my limited 
acquirements and the possibility of erring in these conclu- 
sions of mine, I shall greet with all due respect and grati- 
tude any refutation of my opinions. The friends of art 
and learning should act as a society to assist each other in 
the investigation of truth and search of utility. This is 
my confession as a writer, to demonstrate the sincerity 
which I regard as a sacred and unimpeachable duty. Basil 
Capnistes. From the Russian Journal, " The Patriot," 
Novemb. 28th, 1819. 



The island of Malta, called by the Greeks Melite, is 
generally acknowledged as the place of St. Paul's shipwreck. 
Some writers, however, assert that tliis event happened in 
the Adriatic, at another islet, bearing the same name. But 
we think that the term Dithalassos, (where two seas meet), 
could apply only to the strait between Malta and Gozo ; 
and if the ship in which the Apostle was wafted had drifted 
up and down the gulf for fourteen days, land would have 
been seen. Adriatic probably applies to the whole sea, 
between Crete and Malta, including also the Adriatic Gulf, 
To drift fourteen days, in such a terrific storm, necessarily 
requires the open sea, otherwise, had the ship advanced 
towards any other point it would have reached land in three 
days. It seems that Ulysses and Paul suffered a great deal 
in these seas. 

During my stay at Malta, I was hospitably entertained 
in the residence of the Rev. Mr. Bird, Missionary of the 
American Board, now at Hartford. Never shall I forget, 
likewise, the kindness of Dr. Temple. The time passed 
delightfully, while I was surrounded by such friends, who 



150 WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 

left the comfort and charms of their homes, for the sake of 
the Saviour of man. 

There 1^ met Dr. Howe, just returning from Greece, 
where he had been distributing a ship-load of supplies for 
the destitute famiUes. He was on his way to Italy. The 
sight of my former benefactor was cheering. Who thinks 
of tyrants and their sway, while such benevolent agents 
roam about the earth? If every nation imitated America, in 
her plans of charity, there would be no bodily or mental 
suffering in any country. Even tyranny would cease, and 
bloodshed never more stain the noblest works of God. The 
relief-ships were arks of saving effect to Greece, not for eight ; 
persons, but for thousands of families. Americans were 
sent to feed the Greeks, as the angels of God fed Elijah. 

My desire of revisiting my country hurried me from 
Malta, after a month's residence under its lovely sky. I 
embarked upon a Greek vessel bound for Mesolonghi. We"^ 
left the harbour, sailing through a forest of ships of com- 
merce and Russian and English men of war. After enter- 
ing the Ionian Sea, we neared Zacynthus (Zante), the 
flower of the Ionian Isles, which belong to England, seven 
in number. Zante has a castle of great strength, and 
Corcyra (Corfu) has another perched on a lofty rock, as 
impregnable as Gibraltar, or nearly so. This latter post 
has been rendered more formidable by additional expendi- 
tures from the British government. It is astonishing with 
what rapid strides Albion is conquering the coast, as mis- 
tress of the seas. She holds the Trident of Neptune, and 
shakes the earth. On arriving in front of the Gulf of 
Corinth we looked behind and saw the lofty peaks of Enos 
and Scopes, on Cephalonia and Zante, and beyond them to 
the north, the coast of Ithaca and Leucas, with many islets 
interspersed in great numbers. Gazing in front of our 



ii 



WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES. 151 

vessel, we beheld the coast of jEtolia, on one side, and that 
of Peloponnesus on the other side of the mouth of the 
Corinthian Gulf (or Gulf of Lepanto). The mountain- 
scenery at this point was sublime, and associated with some 
of the greatest events of history, the battle of Actium, the 
victory of Lepanto, and the destruction of Mesolonghi, the 
city which formed the pillar of the Grecian cause for West- 
ern Greece and Rumelia. We entered the harbour and 
landed upon the ruins of former prosperity. We regarded 
this spot as the tomb of the bravest sons of modern Greece. 
There the corpse of the patriotic Marco Bozzaris was brought 
and buried by his gallant band ; and here died Byron and 
Norman, two of the foreign benefactors of my country. 
This is the golgotha of sculls and shades of the noblest, 
most beloved and respected of the friends of liberty. The 
shade of the English bard, who was enrolled as a citizen of 
Greece, the Greek-spirited Byron, hovers about that scene, 
mourning that he could not have lived to save the gallant 
Mesolonghians from their dreadful fate, abandoned by in- 
different Christendom to the jav/s of famine. What Turk 
and Egyptian could not eff'ect, starvation accomplished. In 
vain the muse of Byron startled all Europe, and awakened 
sympathy in the intellect, for selfish monarchs denied the 
Greek his nationality, and left the universally beloved, and 
eulogised families of Mesolonghi, to hurl themselves un- 
timely to eternity in a terrible explosion, which entombed 
their sons and daughters in universal ruin, with myriads of 
their enemies. 

" Immortal Byron, thou whose courage planned 
The rescue of that subjugated land ! 
O, hadst thou livtd to rear thy giant glaive, 
Thoud'st bid the Christian Cross triumphant wave, 
Marked the pale Crescent wave mid seas of blood, > 



152 THE author's search 

And stamp'd proud Grsecia's freedom in the flood. 

But Oh, 'twas fate's decree thou should'st expire 

Swan-like, amid the breathings of thy lyre ; 

E'en in the light of thy own bright song. 

As sinks the glorious sun amid the throng 

Of bright-robed clouds, the pageantry of Heaven, 

Thy last retiring beam to earth was given." 

THE author's search FOR HIS MOTHER. 

From Mesolonghi, we sailed across the mouth of the Gulf 
of Corinth, and landed at Patras. Here I began to meet 
with Chians, but none who knew the fate of my parents. I 
learned that the Chian exiles, before the termination of the 
Greek Revolution, thinking that the Christian powers would 
liberate every portion which had revolted, fitted out, at their 
own expense, a formidable expedition against the Turks of 
that island. An army of regulars under Col. Fabvier, and 
several Albanian bands under their respective chieftains 
closely besieged the enemy in the citadel, but without suc- 
cess, on account of the settlement of the Greek question by 
the three allied powers, that surrendered Scio back to Tur- 
key. The natives, fearing the renewal of slaughter, on the 
part of their masters, emigrated in a body to foreign shores. 
I was, therefore, in utter perplexity, about the fate of my 
mother, and had no Mentor to guide my search. Directing 
his course at random, the exile of Scio entered a mysticon 
bound for Lutraki, which lies at the furthest point of the 
Gulf. Leaving Patras, he looked back upon the scenery of ■ I 
this earliest theatre of the modern struggle for liberty. The - ' 
frightful monster-shaped rocks exhibit the appearance of in- 
domitable chimeras, to a fancy associated with history, i J 
Some of them piled upon one another became mountainous J I 
and snow-capt. Patras with its citadel vanished, and wd| I 
entered the narrow channel of the Gulf. Naupactus (Le- 



FOK HIS MOTUEF?. 153 

panto) with its strong fortress greeted us. The view now 
was enchanting, on both sides of this river-Hke passage. 
The sun was decHning, beneath the tall summits of Livadia, 
and we distinctly heard the shepherd's lute, the mountain- 
boy's whistle, the bells of the returning flocks and herds, 
and the shouts and discharges of the huntsman. The sights 
and sounds caught lustre and tone from freedom, and re- 
sumed the beauty and joy of infant antiquity. Here was 
the scene of the defeat of the Ottoman Armada, in the 
seventeenth century, by the last naval crusade, when the 
Christian Renegade Ochali was put to flight ; but the effect 
of that interference was not particularly beneficial to the 
Greeks. A later epoch, the modern naval crusade, called 
the victory at Navarino, sealed our freedom. Then the 
gallant French army landed, and completed the expulsion 
of the foe. Here, in this gulf, many a towering fortress 
was regained by their prowess, and restored to the Greeks. 
On board our vessel were soldiers who had participated in 
this enterprise, and related vv^ith enthusiasm the events, of 
which they had been eye-witnesses. Sailing in the moon- 
light, and starry glimmer of a dewy night, we beheld the 
gulf expand, until the shores, in the distance, seemed to be 
departing ; suddenly towards morning, the passage grew 
narrower, as we entered the bay of our destined port, Lutraki. 
Here, let us pause and look behind, upon the thrilling traces 
of conquest, which history has impressed upon sea and land, 
and to the fancy's eye coloured wich the veins of many na- 
tions slaughtered in the dread arena of invasion. Yonder 
arises the sky-piercing citadel of Corinth, where the Ro- 
mans displayed their ambitious and rapacious disposition, 
by plundering, what they could not appreciate, except as 
mere robbers. Perhaps no epoch of the mistress of the 

IX 



154 THE author's search 

world is fraught with greater interest, than the cowardly 
massacre of the Corinthians, and the transportation of their 
unrivaled luxury of art to Italy. The Roman general, 
Mummius, placed so much value on the works of genius, that 
he ordered the trustees of the articles transported to beware 
of losing any, under pain of restoring others as elegant. It 
is sufficient to add that all the architecture and ornamental 
works of imperial Rome, bear no comparison to the taste 
and delicacy of those of Corinth. The ignorant Romans 
built themselves up by the ruins of their neighbours, and 
have in turn been plundered by the Germans ; who next 
were robbed by the French ; who in their order were stripped 
by the English, and thus the Grecian relics of art are wan- 
dering trophies never likely to be restored. In England, 
artificial ruins are constructed of plundered columns and 
statues, transported at great expense from Greece. It is 
astonishing, that the world attacks the mother of Phidias, 
abstracts her jewels and robes, and then bids her find more, 
that she may be robbed again. If she does not immediately 
proceed to fashion other works for the rapacity of nations, 
they shout against her, and call her children degenerate. 
Corinth stands a monument of the greatest injustice and in- 
gratitude, embracing the widest range of any system of 
foreign aggression, that mankind ever saw. In the full 
glare of history, under the glowing page and tone of poetry 
and oratory, until within a short period, the European races 
appeared blinded by bigotry and uncharitableness, to such 
a degree, that every traveler felt or acted, as if he had a 
right to mutilate the Grecian monuments, and batter the 
Greek himself with sarcasm and insult. Thanks to God 
the era has arrived, when Goths, Huns, Gauls and Van- 
dals are opening their eyes, and showing by practice, that 
they feel and appreciate the arts. 



FOR HIS MOTHElt. 155 

Who can gaze upon the lofty citadel of Corinth \vithout 
thrilling with synnpathy at the unjust suffering of that city, 
the honor of Greece and pilgrimage of Roman travelers, 
who placed it beyond all other resorts of elegance and 
splendor, which the world could boast. If the Pyramids 
of Egypt were huge wonders, tasteless, and watered with the 
tears and blood of slaves, not so Corinth, which rose like 
a forest of beauty and symmetry, growing up from the 
cultivated intellect,, and the patronised skill. How painful 
the reflection that this most enchanting abode of peace and 
art, love and lore, should have excited envy in so many 
foreign nations ! What terrible scenes have passed in that 
cloud-capt citadel, even in modern times, in the feuds be- 
tween Turkey and Venice, and the late strife of the Abori- 
ginal Greeks to repel the invaders ! 

Many a vanished year and age, 

And tempest breath, and battle's rage, 

Have swept o'er Corinth ; yet she stands 

A fortress formed to Freedom's hands. 

The whirhvind's wrath, the earthquake's shock. 

Have left untouched he^ hoary rock. 

* * * * 

The landmark to tlie double tide 
That purpling rolls on either side. 
As if their waters chafed to meet, 
Yet pause and crouch beneath her feet. 
But could the blood before her shed 
Since first Timoleon's brother bled, 
- Or baffled Persia's despot fled, 

Arise from out the earth which drank, 
The stream of slaughter as it sank, 
That sanguine ocean would o'erflow 
Her Isthmus idly spread below : 
Or could the bones of all the slain, 
Who perished there, be piled again, 



156 THE EXILE HEARS OF HIS MOTHER. 

That rival Pyramid would rise 

More mountain like, through those clear skies, 

Than yon tower-capt Acropolis, 

Which seems the very clouds to kiss. 

This keystone of Greece, so called by Byron, looks iar 
into the land and sea on every side. The breadth of the 
Isthmus from Lutraki where we landed, to Calamaki, on 
the Saronic shore, is only six miles, level and capable of 
being separated by a canal comparatively easy, but never 
accomplished from fear of inundation. This narrow por- 
tion called Hexamilia, is the neck of Greece, and when that 
is trampled by the invader, the whole country shakes from 
end to end. Here is the passage of commerce in traversing 
Greece, and even now a continual line of mules, camels and 
horses transport produce from one shore to the other. In 
the triumphant days of Rome, her magnificent Triremes 
covered the Corinthian Gulf and landed innumerable le- 
gions, whose tread echoed across the narrow isthmus, until 
they embarked on the opposite coast to cross the Archipe- 
lago and overthrow empires and monarchs. What sensa- 
tions possess the soul of the pilgrim now, while all these 
ancient thunders of Italian ambition are hushed in death 
and oblivion. 

THE EXILE HEARS OF HIS MOTHER. 

V 

During my stay at Lutraki, I chanced to meet an acquain- 
tance of one of my brothers, an officer in the Greek army, 
who knew all about my family and informed me that my mo- 
ther had fled from Scio, and reached Nauplion, where I could 
find her still remaining. The inspiring intelligence of her 
proximity, drove all sorrow from my heart. I wrote a let- 
ter, and paid the warrior a small sum to carry the news 



THE EXILE HEARS OF UIS MOTHER. 157 

across the mountains to my mother, that she might not be 
too much surprised by my sudden appearance. After this 
filial duty, I mounted the towering load of a camel, and 
leisurely proceeded across the isthmus to Calamaki, that 
place which echoed to Spartan, Theban, and Athenian ar- 
mies of old. I embarked upon a boat, and in a few hours 
reached ^gina, and was welcomed to the house of an ex- 
iled Chian acquaintance of our family. 
- The island was in a flourishing state, as there was an 
Orphan Asylum, a Lyceum, and public schools erected by 
Capodistrias, who was then the President of Greece. As 
we gazed upon Athens, we fancied the barbarous crescent 
still waving over the Parthenon, but looking at ^gina, we 
beheld the civilized tokens of the descendants of Socrates 
and Plato, The contrast was exceedingly impressive to my 
youthful mind, fresh from America. During my stay, I vi- 
sited Contostaulos, a Chian, one of the agents who sailed 
to New York to obtain the frigates. It is well known that 
one of the ships was sacrificed, on account of the perfidy 
of some New York contractors, whose conduct has been gene- 
rously exposed by the North American Review. Still, the 
Greeks imagine on the contrary, that not an American, but 
Contostaulos was the traitor to the treasury of suffering 
Greece. Unhappily, this impression, even now, exposes 
that noble Chian exile to unjust ridicule and sarcasm, from 
his fellow countrymen, who cannot suspect any deceit on 
the part of the Americans. 

His house, built upon the American plan, reminded me of 
a New England country-seat. His fluency in the English 
language brought me back to the scenes of my trans-atlan- 
tic wanderings. Wherever I strolled, the inquisitive stu- 
dents thronged about me, and pressed questions respecting 
the land of Washington and Franklin. 



158 THE EXILE HEARS OP HIS MOTHER. 

At last, a vessel bound for Nauplion, was announced, as 
ready to quit the port. I embarked on board, panting to 
greet my mother, and once more receive her blessing. The 
enchanting scenery began to assume sunset hues, when we 
lost sight of iEgina, and came in view of Hydra. 

" Slow sinks, more lovely ere his race be run, 

Along Morea's hills the setting sun, 

Not, as in northern climes obscurely bright, 

But one unclouded blaze of living light ! 

O'er the hushed deep, the yellow beam he throws, 

Gilds the green wave that trembles as it glows. 

On old jfEgina's rock, and Hydra's Isle, 

The God of gladness sheds his parting smile." 

Entering the Argolic gulf, we soon came in view of that 
formidable array of forts, in the harbour, on the shore, and 
upon the mountains around Nauplion. (Napoli di Roma- 
nia.) The loftiest of all, called the Palameda, was taken 
on the 30th of November, 1822, by Staicos, a daring Peiopon- 
nesian Greek, who scaled the walls by night, in company with 
a small band, and thus secured the bulwark and asylum of 
his country, during the bloody struggle. The common 
people celebrate the exploit of this hero, by a song, of which 
we give a paraphrase, to show that the ignorant class of 
Greeks, possess a descriptive power not without taste. 

SIEGE OF NAUPLION. 

A Turkish maiden, Nauplion's flower, 
Ascends the Palanieda's tower, 
And overlooks a space immense, 
Of Moslem forts and battlements. 
She looks beyond and sees the land, 
Invaded by a Spartan band, 
And views the harbour stript of trade, 



THE EXILE HEARS OP HIS MOTHER. 159 

And muzzled by a Greek blockade. 
" Great Sultan, send the Armada here, 
Dispelling danger, doubt and fear. 
Command the Serasker to lower, 
With ruin on the rebel Giaour. 

" Despatch thy vengeful force to chase 
The rude besiegers from the place. 
Ah, Nauplion can no more rejoice. 
Nor dance, nor waken music's voice. 
By land, she must the Prince defeat. 
By sea, fierce Bubulena's fleet. 
Balls fail like rain, and bombs like hail. 
And shot like sand, in desert gale ! 
The Grecians cried, " O Nauplion yield, 
Give up the keys, thy fate is sealed !" 
Said Nauplion, " shall I mind your law. 
While all my ramparts thunder, ' War ?' " 

" I've orders both by sea and land, 
With fivarteen frigates at ray hand, 
And large three-deckers, I have eight. 
And seventy thousand men, await. 
Soon seven Pashas will come along. 
To make me quite securely strong, 
To ruin the xMorea all. 
And make the rebel standard fall. 
To diivo aggression from our face, 
And liberate the Moslem race." 
Said Greeks " Surrender, ^Nauplion, now 
Before dc-pair j-hall make thee bow !" 

Said Nauplion, " No, I am ashamed 

To yield, as Nauplion, lost, defamed. 

My picture is, in Venice known, 

And at Constantinople s!;ovvn. 

How can I darken such a view. 

By treachery's black and graceless hue 1" 



160 THE AUTHOR MEETS HIS MOTHER. 

November thirtieth, Andrew's Day, 
Beloved Christians, don't delay. 
So Staicos and his men rushed on, 
And scaled the walls of Nauplion. 
The Palameda now is free, 
The Citadel, Greek property ! 

THE AUTHOR MEETS HIS MOTHER. 

In the above piece, the Prince re fees to Hypsilantes, 
then generalissimo of the Grecian forces. Bubulena was 
a female admiral of a division of the Spetzian fleet, owned 
by herself, and employed for her country's good. The song 
was sung by the victors, and according to custom, in every 
warlike action verses are composed for the occasion and 
often sung behind the breastworks or on the battlements. 

Landing at Nauplion, I hastened to greet my mother, 
after seven years absence from her smiles and counsels. 
As I strolled along the streets, I wondered at the mighty 
change of things and persons. Almost all my recollection 
of the former condition of Greece was associated with ty- 
ranny and war, but now"" liberty and peace beamed upon 
prospects full of consolation and hope. The air was no 
longer replete with sighs and groans and the echoes of dead- 
ly assaults, but mirth and jollity resounded on all sides. 
Meeting my brother, I accompanied him to my mother's 
residence. On entering, I received her expectant and over- 
joyed embrace. Seven years had altered my stature, and 
filled my mind with stores of information about foreign 
lands. Imagine therefore the wonder with which I was 
contemplated by a faithful and fond parent. She had pre- 
served the picture of the Virgin Mary, my patron saint, and 
kept a light burning before it day and night for my sake, 
until I should return to her. After salutation, she rushed to the 



THE AUTHOR MEETS HIS MOTHER. 161 

picture, and kissed it fervently, thanking the mother of God, 
for having interceded in my behalf, to restore me to her 
bosom. As for myself, I neglected even making the sign 
of the cross, and after some days had elapsed blew out the 
taper, and assured my mother that I had transferred the light 
to my heart. This step completely astounded my mother, who 
stood mute and solemn. I told her, that such worship be- 
longs only to the superstitious, and is improper in those, 
who believe in the omnipotence of the Supreme Being, who 
enjoins upon us to have no other Gods before him. I 
cannot and shall not attempt to describe the mingled -emo- 
tions, depicted on her brow, nor the expressions which I 
uttered to display my American ideas on religion. She 
allowed me to believe as my American friends taught me, 
but begged of me to let her die in her father's religion. 

Our family were in good circumstances through the enter- 
prise of my brothers. My father was no more. My two 
sisters were living; the married one was at Argos, and the 
other, the youngest, remained at home. I was placed 
under a Smyrnian instructor of ancient Greek. Most of my 
time was spent at home, in conversing on the fate of our 
relatives and on the changes that took place during my 
absence. Most of my relatives had fallen by the scimitar, 
and about forty were and now are slaves ip various parts 
of the Ottoman empire. For several nights my mother 
could not sleep from joy at my return ; and all the day, 
she recited events which excited grief and sympathy. 

The events of this epoch connected with the political af- 
fairs of Greece are important, and we refer the readers 
back to the period when Capodistrias was first elected, and 
terminate at his death. 



162 ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 

ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 

In 1828, Capodistrias, a Greek of Corfu, enjoying the 
title and riches of Count, was chosen president of the state 
of Hellas, (Greece.) Sonie provinces hotly opposed, and 
accused him of partiality for the Russians. The schools 
which he established, throughout the country, became the- 
atres of discussion against his tyranny. Being an enemy 
of the Constitutionalists, he exhibited antipathy for the word 
independence, using dependence instead, and calling himself 
the constitution. For constitutional liberty, the Greeks had 
boldly contended against the force and cruelty of the 
Grand Seignior and were not to be intimidated by the threats 
of a President elected by foreign intercessions, nor prevent- 
ed by him from studying the principles of such freedom. 
Greece was torn by the most frightful civil dissensions. 
The constitutionalists and the partisans of the administration 
declared open war against each other. Capodistrias was 
deserted by the entire naval department and forced to have 
recourse to a Russian Squadron, with which he assailed 
the revoltersin the harbour of Poros. Miaulis, the admiral, 
rather than surrender his vessels to Russia, set on fire the 
largest, together with the American-built frigate Hellas, 
and retired on shore, leaving them to be destroyed. Poros 
was partially burnt and Hydra besieged by the tyrant. 

Despotism could no longer be borne by the Greeks. 
Capodistrias was warned that his life was in danger, but 
every precaution was disregarded. His only bodyguard 
was a tall Cretan, whose right arm had been shot off. 
George the son and Constanline the brother of Mauromicha- 
lis Bey of Maina, while at Nauplion, determined to emulate 
Plarmodius and Aristogiton, by destroying the tyrant. 

Oct. 9th, 1831, they lurked for him at the entrance of 
the Church of St. Spyridon, and attacked him on the thres- 



ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 163 

hold, one of them addressing him at the same time, in the 
following words, (which I heard,) "Tv^^ewe '£a;\;}vo$ Tpd^etM^ 
^t;-/6v ^sv v'To^spet, (tyrant, a Grecian neck will not bear the 
yoke !) The former discharged a pistol against his head, 
while the other slabbed him with a dagger. The president fell 
dead upon the spot ; his lifeless body rolled before me ; and 
I startled with horror. One of the assassins was killed by 
the single-armed Cretan ; the other fled to the French con- 
sulate, exclaiming, '* I have killed the tyrant." The of- 
ficers of government seized, and after trial led him forth to 
execution. He stepped forward with unbandaged eyes, re- 
questing a few moments' reprieve, and delivered an eloquent 
address, terminating in the dying declaration, that a Greek 
neck will not bear the yoke. He was a man of noble ap- 
pearance, and his death was a sad sight even to his enemies. 

After this event, the schools, dependent on the patronage 
of Capodistrias, were abandoned, and their instructors dis- 
persed for want of means of support. Augustine, the pre- 
sident's brother, managed the reins of power a short time, 
until the constitutionalists took Nauplion, and forced him to 
quit the country. 

The American missionaries, at that time, afforded relief 
to many of the neglected instructors, by employing them 
in their institutions. Great gratitude is due to Rev. Dr. 
Robertson, Dr. King, and Rev. Mr. Hill and lady, located 
at Athens. 

After the defeat of Augustine, Greece was for a few 
nionths a scene of anarchy, before the arrival of a regency 
of three members, appointed in 1832 by the allied powers, 
to govern the country until the king, whom they had no- 
minated, should reach the proper age to assume the sway. 
Our new rulers introduced order throughout the state, and 
re-established in some measure the schools. 



164 ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 

In 1831, the number of public schools in Greece was 
112, containing 8,467 pupils. At^gina, an academy was 
erected, having 400 scholars instructed in Greek, French, 
history and mathematics, with a preparatory school of 227 
pupils. At the same place was established an orphan 
asylum, containing 700 boys. At Poros, was opened an 
ecclesiastical seminary for the Hellenic tongue, history, 
logic, rhetoric and theology. At Nauplion, arose a military 
school of 60 students. 

The inhabitants of Syra, in 1833, erected a large gymna- 
sium, in Hermopolis, a city of this island, introducing Nico- 
laides, a learned teacher, and Neophytus Bambas, a famous 
Greek philosopher whom they had invited from the College 
of Corfu. This institution now occupies a high stand, as 
one of the glowing luminaries of regeneration. The prime 
movers of this important engine of knowledge are Chian 
and Smyrniote refugees. 



ARRIVAL OF KING OTHO AT ATHENS. 165 



CHAPTER XII. 

ARRIVAL OF KING OTIIO AT ATHENS. 

The new king, Olho, son of Ludovic, (Lewis,) of Bava- 
ria, and only nineteen years of age, arrived at Nauplion, 
in January, 1833, and on Feb. 14th, the people of Ath.ens 
assembled in the temple of Theseus, and sang the doxology 
for the arrival of the royal personage. April 1st, King 
Otho and his body-guard went to Athens. There were 
demonstrations of joy at the announcement of his coming. 
ThQ plains and mountains of Attica resounded with Zrja u 
^ciTiXtW rviq "EAAa<5'o;, Zeetoh O vasseelefs tees Ellathos, 
(long live Grsecia's king !) He entered with his escort 
through the sacred way of Eleusis, and was met at the 
Olive Grove by a procession of the priesthood, the pupils of 
the schools, the citizens, and the American missionaries and 
their schools. The cannon of the Acropolis fired a con- 
tinual salute, and the peasants came from the mountains 
bearing olive-branches, and shouting, ** Long live the 
king !" 

It was a beautiful day ; Athena smiled, and wept, be- 
holding a king over what had, for nineteen hundred years, 
been under some foreign yoke. There stood the uncrum- 
bled fane of Theseus, awaiting the royal train, while the 
shade of the ancient hero looked down, through thirty cen- 
turies, with the same pride, as when he returned victorious, 
from the expedition against the Amazons. Otho, on reach- 
ing the portico of this temple, was greeted by the chief 
priest, with the invitation, 6,svTe fixa-tXev roi ir^cajX, Thefte 



166 ARRIVAL OF KING OTHO AT ATHENS. 

vasseelef too Israheel, (Come, Israel's King.) When the au- 
dience were assembled, the Bishop of Talantion and Athens 
delivered an address, which moved the multitude to tears. 
I heard Dr. King saying to Mr. Riggs, that no divine in 
America could deliver a better address for the occasion. 

The same day, the Acropolis was evacuated by the Ot- 
toman garrison. The royal guard and the Athenian people 
rushed forward and filled the sacred enclosure. The Greek 
flag was seen floating once more upon the Parthenon ; the 
priesthood sang the doxology, and then cheers were given 
and salutes fired. The plains of Attica re-echoed with salvos, 
as they had many times in the revolution, when the citadel 
was in Grecian hands, under the successive commanders, 
Ctenas, Sares, Odysseus, Guras and Criezotis, men of giant 
powers, whose lives though short on earth, their patriotic 
acts will be forever remembered by their countrymen. The 
Turks reduced by disease left their close confinement in a 
miserable state. Some Athenian Turks, while on the point 
of leaving their place of birth, fell upon the ground, kissed 
it, shed tears and then bade Athens an eternal farewell. 
Such, exclaimed an old man, such is the will of fate. 
These Turks uttered their sorrowful words in the Greek 
language, with so much pathos, that it moved the tears of 
many Greek bystanders. 

The following proclamation was published by Otho, King 
of Greece on his arrival at Nauplion, of which we give a 
translation. 
Otho, by the Grace of God, King of Greece to the Helle- 
nes (Greeks). 
Greeks ! 

Called before you by the trust of the High Mediating 
Powers, to whose protection you are indebted for the termi- 



ARRIVAL OF KING OTHO AT ATHENS. 167 

nation of a long and destructive war ; and invited by your 
free suffrage, I ascend the throne of Greece to fulfil the en- 
gagements which 1 have contracted, in accepting the crown 
which was offered to me. 

You have, after a bloody struggle with the sacrifice of 
all that was most precious, acquired a political existence 
and an independence, foundations of the happiness and 
prosperity of nations. 

You have shown yourselves, by your courage, the worthy 
descendants of your ancestors, whose glory has traversed 
ages without losing its lustre. 

But until now, you were deprived of the privilege of 
reaping the fruits of your noble efforts. Your fields are 
without culture; your industry has hardly begun to revive; 
and your commerce, formerly so flourishing, is completely 
paralyzed. 

It is in vain that the arts and sciences awaited the mo- 
ment, when, under the aegis of peace, they might expect to 
revisit the spot of their origin. Despotism, with you, has 
been exchanged for anarchy, which crushes you beneath 
its horrible scourge. What love of country had conquered 
for you by a noble impulse, discord and the most sordid 
egotism have wrested from your grasp. 

To terminate your evils, a civil war, which consumes for 
nought, your most brilliant faculties, to concentrate in future 
your efforts upon one single object, namely, that of the 
prosperity, happiness and glory of your country which be- 
comes henceforth my own ; to efface, by degrees, under the 
influence of peace and public order, the numerous traces of 
misfortunes, which have weighed upon your beautiful land, 
gifted by nature with so much profusion, to take into con- 
sideration the sacrifices made and the services rendered 



168 ARRIVAL OF KING OTHO AT ATHENS. 

to the common country, to protect under the aegis of law 
and justice, your persons and your property against arbi-' 
trary and abusive power; to procure for you, by means of 
institutions well matured, solidly based, and fitted to the 
state and hopes of your nation, the benefits of a genuine 
liberty, which exists only under the empire cf laws ; to com- 
plete in fine the regeneration of Greece ; such is the painful 
but glorious task, which I have imposed upon myself. I 
sacrifice to it a happy existence, in the bosom of a land 
cherished by my ancestry, and penetrated with the same 
sentiments which lately animated my august father, when 
the first among sovereigns, he extended to you a liberal 
hand, during your heroic struggle for your deliverance. 

With full confidence, I address you, oh Greeks, and ask 
you to unite, henceforth, with fraternal concord, your en- 
deavours with mine in the single design of the public weal. 
Let us not sufier the success obtained by your courage, 
perseverance, patriotism, and confidence in Divine Provi- 
dence, to be sacrificed, now, in the convulsions of discord 
and anarchy ; nor your name, for which so many lofty 
deeds have secured immortality, to be polluted by the vagaries 
of the grossest passions. Whatever be the efforts which this 
noble task exacts of us, our success will amply reward us. 

In ascending the throne of Greece, I here give you the as- 
surance of protecting conscientiously your religion, of main- 
taining faithfully the laws for enforcing an impartial admi- 
nistration of justice in favour of all ; and to preserve undis- 
turbed, with the aid of God, against all hindrance, your 
independence, liberties and rights. 

My first care shall be applied to the settlement and sta- 
bility of public order and tranquillity, that all of you may 
enjoy in peace, and without opposition, a full security. 



THE BAVARIANS AND THE GREEKS. 169 

Consigning to oblivion the bewildering policy of the past, 1 
am waiting with conhdence until each of you submits him- 
self henceforth to the obedience due to the laws and authority, 
on which is imposed their execution. Let each of you 
therefore return peaceably to his fireside. Thus, I hope 
with firmness to be freed of the painful riecessity of pursuing 
with all the rigour of the laws, the disturbers of public 
peace and the rebels. 

May the Divine Providence bless your united endeavpurs, 
"and cause again to flourish with new lustre this beautiful 
country, the soil of which covers the ashes of the greatest 
men and citizens; whose reminiscences recall the most 
brilliant historical epochs, and whosechildren have recently 
proved to cotemporaries that heroism and the elevated 
sentiments of their immortal sires are not extinct in their 
hearts. 

In the name of the King, 

Signed The Regency. 

Ct. Armansperg, Prest. De Maurer, De Heidegg. 

THE BAVARIANS AND THE GREEKS. 

The King introduced into Greece an army of about four 
thousand Bavarians intended as a means of protecting his 
majesty, and quelling the anarchy. After the noble assur- 
ances, on the King's part, that the Grecian rights should be 
respected and interests promoted, not the least disturbance 
ensued to destroy the harmony between ruler and subject. 
The Suliotes and the revolutionary soldiers in general wel- 
comed joyfully the Bavarians ; called them patriots ; ban- 
queted and made merry With them, as with fellow-country, 
men. At last, however, these new comers began to assume 
a different aspect ; hardly four months had passed when the 
Bavarians began to exhibit a spirit revolting to the Gr«eks 
12 



170 THE BAVAHIANS AND THE GREEKS. 

They became haughty, persuaded by flattery that they weri 
destined to stand highest of all in the new state. By som« 
mysterious means, many of those soldiers of Bavaria, who 
had never seen a battle were promoted to high office, with 
a heavy salary from the Greek treasury. The Bavariar^s, 
being in no real service, pursued other employments, and, at 
the same time, received wages as if they were on military 
duty, their families were settled in the midst of the country, 
and one would think that the Greeks were amusing them- 
selves by supporting a German colony at their own expense 
and discomfiture. Nay, these martial immigrants, enjoyed 
better quarters than the native heroes of the revolution. 
Such undisguised intrusion was highly displeasing and 
irritating to the Greeks. 

The regency was called upon by the citizens, and en- 
treated to listen to reason. The Suliotes, Olympians, and 
Spartans, of whom many had each twenty scars on their 
frame, came joining in the Pyrrhic dance, and reclining 
beneath the peristyles of the temples of Theseus and 
Minerva. They demanded the reward of bravery, and the 
dismissal of the Bavarians, but were refused. They declared 
that, if they had a mind to revolt, twenty mountaineers ol 
Greece would defeat the whole Bavarian army. These 
assertions were unnoticed, and the foreigners continued to 
drain the treasury without reserve. 

Quarrels daily arose between them and the natives, until 
the regency, with an eye on the fountain-head of commo^ 
tion, laid a plot to repress the impulse of the Spartans, by 
imposing severe regulations upon that excitable community^ 
The laws of the realm being resisted, it became importan,' 
to test the efficiency of the Bavarian Guard. The German 
troops, entering Sparta, were surrounded in the mountain- 
defiles, by the Maniotes, who, instead of contending, asked 



THE BAVARIANS AND THE GREEKS. 171 

a parley. The royal message was read, but the Spartans 
or Maniotes gave no reply except laughter, and the question, 
*' Do you think that the Spartans, victorious over foreign 
invaders, will be awed by the Bavarians ?" With laconic 
dispatch, the regulars were caught, disarmed, stript, and 
not released until ransomed. They were then dismissed, 
and ordered to return home, equip themselves with new 
arms, and invade Sparta again. The parting salutation 
was, " Go, you Snuffers, and tell our king that his good 
behaviour will be his best Guard !" The word Snuffers, 
-^J/ahi^oKsptcc, (psalee thoughkareeah) is used to qualify those 
who wear tight pantaloons, as a term of ridicule of the 
European troops seeming to move like snuffers opening 
and shutting. 

The king took the hint, sent home most of his Germans, 
and instituted a Grecian corps to protect the laws. At first 
the flowing tunics (phustanelse), were required to be thrown 
aside, and the European uniform adopted. Ridicule and 
sarcasm followed this ordinance, and many were no sooner 
equipped than they escaped, fled to Turkey, and occupied 
the many peaked Olympus. Remaining there several 
years, they continually made incursions upon the neigh- 
bouring villages. Many a rich Turk was caught and ran- 
somed. It was impossible to hunt them out ; they were 
called the plagues of the frontier, and bore a standard, upon 
which was inscribed. " The unjustly treated Greeks." Ol 
a^txr^f^hot ^EAAjjvfs, (ee atheekeemenny elleeness). 

Of late, however, circumstances have changed, and the 
deserters have been recalled by flattery to the capital. 
A regiment has been formed, wearing the native costume. 
The king and queen are often arrayed in the Suliot attire. 

Thus much we have said of what Greece has gained by 
the Revolution, but of her loss in commerce and every 



172 THE BAVARIANS AND THE GREEKS. 

earthly privilege, it is impossible to make an estimate. A 
criterion may be drawn from her loss of life, but even of 
that, although much is known, yet it is probable that an 
immense number of massacres and assassinations were per- 
petrated, which have not been recorded. During eight 
years, Turkey was a bloody scene of slaughter, and the 
amount can only be rendered at the last judgment. We 
will confine our statement to the first year of the Revolu- 
tion, and give an accurate census, composed by a distin- 
guished personage. 

Statistics of the Greeks of both sexes and all ages mas- 
sacred by the Turks in one year, from Feb. 26th. 1821, till 
May 30th, 1822. 

Defenceless Warriors 
victims. slain. 

At Constantinople, publicly 187 

Imprisoned by day, and cut in pieces, tor- 
tured to death, or drowned by night at 
the same city 30,000 

At Trebizond and throughout Asia Minor 18,000 
Around Constantinople and Adrianople 12,000 

In Moldavia and Wallachia 25,000 4 500 

Monastir Berlipe, Sophia, Nisi, Bilaglia 4,000 

Rodosto, Malgara, Tchesan, Tere, Mer6, 
Enos, Genitse, Isumurtsina, Orpha, 
Prausta, Derair-thissar, Kesanlik, and 
Seres 8,000 

Monte Santo, Cassandra, Thessalonica, 

Nani ^Ecaterina, AUasane 30,000 550 

Zarissa, Ampelacia, Agia, Macrinitza, Volo, 
Armiros, Zeitoun, Domoco, Pharsule, 
Turnovo, Tricala 
Livadia, Thebes, Athens, Negropont 
Archipelago 

Wester .1 Hellas (continental) 
Pelop^nr.esas 

Total 219,637 10,650 



12,000 


500 


7,500 


450 


70,000 


300 


1,000 


350 


2,000 


4000 



THE BAVARIANS AND THE GREEKS. 173 

One may perhaps be surprised at the number of persons 
unjustly massacred at Constantinople, that Golgotha of 
Islamism, yet we easily understand the exactness of this 
calculation, knowing that more than two thousand Pelopon- 
nesians, merchants, and traders disappeared without any 
information being given of their fate ; besides whom, there 
were at the capital more than sixty-five thousand Greek 
butchers, gardeners and workman, of whom upwards of 
fifty-thousand were slaughtered. In regard to the islands, 
no one can deny that, at Scio alone, sixty thousand indivi- 
duals perished by the hand of the executioner. 

In one single day, the murderers brought to the admiral, 
in regular tale, according to the Turkish custom, the fright- 
ful amount of 1,085 heads. I pass by in silence the hor- 
rors perpetrated at Tenedos, Cos, Rhodes, and Cyprus. 
Out of all the islanders of the Archipelago, only the Hy- 
driotes, Teneotes, Spetzians, Samians, and a few others 
that revolted, escaped extermination. 

At Constantinople, captives were sold for a trifle to Turks 
who wished to torture them to death. Such were the re- 
forms of the great Sultan Mahmoud, whom many Chris- 
tians, with more than Moslem depravity, affect to admire ! 
Such has been the triumph of the Sublime Porte, over the 
weak and the helpless ! 

How long, O Christendom, wilt thou hesitate to rescue 
remnant of the oppressed 1 Arise, deliver the eight mil- 
lions of Greeks who still groan beneath Turkish fanaticism. 
If thou wilt not form a crusade, tell thy invincible Jiings 
and potentates to command the obedience of civilized law, 
and punish the aggressions of the last Islamite. And thou, 
O Sun ! thou that shinest on the just and the unjust, con- 
ceal henceforth thy light, that Egyptian darkness may hide 
forever, the crimes of ferocious and blood-thirsty tyrants ! 



174 ' AKRIVAL AT ATHENS. 



ARRIVAL AT ATHENS. 



^i 



My arrival at Athens was soon after the death of Capo- 
distrias. The aspect of the city has much altered since that 
time and requires a short notice. 

A few years ago, Athens the capital of the present Greek 
State, was a heap -of ruins, where nothing broke the mono- 
tony of devastation, but those imperishable antique struc- 
tures, those immortal earthly creations, the Parthenon, the 
Temple of Theseus,, the Temple of ^olus, and other vesti- 
ges of art. Only a Cow private Turkish buildings and a 
Mosque escaped the general destruction, half covered with 
surrounding rubbish. The Turks also burnt 50,000 olive 
trees of gigantic size and great age. 

Now, however, Athens is a European city of importance 
and the central resort of Oriental travelers. Her limits ex- 
tend beyond her last enclosure, the famous embattled wall, 
built by a former Turkish Governor of Attica, named Ha- 
sachi, who under pain of death forced his subjects to assem- 
ble and complete, in thirty days, a stone wall with strong 
gates and towers, surrounding the city on every side. This 
wall has been lately removed, in order to open a space for 
streets and dwellings. Much of the real estate is owned by 
foreign capitalists whose agents flocked in from all quarters 
at Otho's arrival. The streets are in most cases named 
after distinguished men and gods and goddesses. The city 
already contains 40,000 inhabitants, and is rapidly increas- 
ing. Many magnificent mansions have been built by rich 
natives and particularly by foreigners. Distinguished per- 
sonages from all parts of Europe, resort beneath the <lelight- 
ful climate of Attica. 



ARRIVAL AT ATHENS. 175 

Since the accession of Otho to the throne of Greece, a 
superb royal palace has been constructed of Pentelic mar- 
ble. Otho's University possesses several fine edifices. 
Other public buildings are in process of erection. 

Pirceus, the harbor of the capital, displays several rich 
commercial establishments, and a considerable amount of 
shipping. Part of the land of the Pirseus was offered to 
the Chians. whose well-known enterprise will not fail to aid 
greatly the extension of Athenian commerce. Between the 
port and city, a space of six miles, is a road constantly 
traveled by omnibuses. (^TavTocpoola. Pandophoreea.) *Be- 
fore the revolution, carriages were rarely seen in Greece. 
The most strikinij change is the substitution of the Areo- 
pagus for the Moslem Cadi. The Temple of Theseus is 
used now as a Museum. It exhibits many interesting works 
of antique architecture and sculpture in a mutilated state ; 
but the reader cannot find in Athens all that belongs to her, 
no ! he must look into the Museums of Europe to discover 
the masterpieces, which ought to be returned to their home, 
unless the unjust rapacity of the Crusaders is allowed to 
stain the brow of western art. 

In the city of Socrates, I renewed my studies, attending 
the schools of the American Missionaries, Robertson, Hill 
and King, who employed many excellent Greek instructors 
and obtained universal eulogy for their disinterested patron- 
age of suffering talent. Here I remained until 1835, listening 
to lectures and taking lessons in the classics. A teacher 
from Seriphos named Baseilios Delphos, also conducted me 
in the path of knowledge. He was private teacher of the 
son of a learned Constantinopolitan widow, named Sultan- 
itsa, who lost her husband during the revolution. 

The reputation of the Philosopher Bambas, who we have 



176 ARRIVAL AT ATHENS. 

mentioned was called from the College of Corfu to the 
Gymnasium of Hermopolis, attracted many students from 
all parts of Greece, among whom I numbered myself. 

The exile of Scio here met with some of his relatives, 
who had escaped from the massacre and fled to various parts 
of Europe. He saw the traces of his former wanderings 
restored by many a renewed association, contributing to 
impress his existence with solemnity and loneliness. He 
joined a society of young men who hired the services of 
useful lecturers on the sciences and literature, and by con- 
tinually seeking after knowledge succeeded in some measure 
in calming his troubled soul. In the course of his residence 
at this emporium of Greece, the frequent presence of Ameri- 
can men of war revived the pleasing reminiscence of his 
second mother land ; and whenever a son of Washington 
arrived, he greeted the visiter as a fellow citizen, in every 
light which reflects to the heart the joy of sympathy and 
the memory of the welcome hearth. The Rev. Dr. Robert- 
son was there with his family, and was occupied in con- 
ducting a printing press, from which issued many valuable 
religious works in modern Greek, to be distributed through- 
out Turkey and Greece. This learned missionary had 
charge of a school, in which his accomplished wife and 
eldest daughter occasionally taught. He has left the scene 
of his labors in the East and returned to the United States. 



SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 177 



CHAPTER Xin. 



SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 



. (1837.) After a long series of vocations, what should 
enter the Chian Exile's imagination, but the idea of exer- 
cising the office of interpreter! Without pretending to* the 
gift of many tongues, he set up as a teacher only of English, 
on the same spot where he had formerly started the smack- 
ing trade of w^ater-peddling. However, his limited know- 
ledge of that useful speech, culled in a hasty visit to 
America, was insufficient for such pupils as had already 
made some advances under other instructors. This want, 
combined with his ignorance of the laws, manners, and 
customs of the United States, turned his eye back upon the 
land of Washington. His desire of revisiting the friends of 
suffering humanity, awakened a determination to re-embark 
upon a second tour. Asking the opinion of his instructor, 
the Chian philosopher, Bambas, he was answered, " Go, 
my son, to America ; go, imitating the industrious bee, 
and when you return, bring to your native strand, stores of 
utility. America is the only truly free nation of the world. 
W^hen her independent republics are united, they can resist 
the combined insult and oppression of conquest-seeking 
empires. Her power when undisturbed, reposes like a lion 
in the wilderness, but when aroused it makes the earth 
tremble." 

Such arguments from the mellifluous counsels of this 
silver-haired sage were irresistible. The die was cast. The 



178 SECOXD VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 



1 

, an(f* 



wanderer had tortured his destiny to a roaming course, 
when it was ready to start nothing could restrain it. The 
letters which he had received from America hy Capt. Alex- 
andros's vessel, in his two voyages, were filled with the 
inspiring histories of old associafes. The attraction of such 
delightful associations was powerful and subduing ; New 
York came to mind ; the shade of Boston hovered near ; 
and the very atmosphere of transatlantic nature filled his 
heart, and wafted every aflection to the rock-bound coast of 
the Pilgrim's wintry flight. His brain ached and reeled, 
under the hurry of thoughts and reflections, busying them- 
selves in marking out the track to be pursued in obtaining 
a passage. Friends and relatives were active in dissuading 
him from rashly plunging into the perils of shoals, reefs, 
Charybdes, Scyllas, breakers, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and 
other terrors of a voyage. But what can make an habitual 
wanderer desist from his eternal round of careering from 
shore to mount, and from the peak to the main again. 
From his boyhood, he had been lionising, from necessity, 
foreign shores, beyond Scio, and if he should take a fresh 
step into the realms of Atlantis, and measure the breadth of 
the ocean and the seas once more, who could by force of 
reason or feeling dissuade him from launching anew into 
the billowy deep? Just as well might you descend to Hades 
and endeavour to persuade Sisyphus to let the rock rest on 
the summit, as to ask the Chian Exile to hinder the rolling 
stone of his adventures from taking another revolution. Its 
habit of roving forbids the supposition. Judgment is fixed 
on the height of imagination, and poised towards the sea. 

" The huge round stone, resulting with a bound, 
Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground." 

Wiih such precipitate resolve, the Exile of Scio was not 



SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 179 

delayed by useless preparation, but hastened rocking along 
npon the waves until his feet attained the Boston pavement. 
The description of his voyage is noted down in the promi- 
nent land-marks of the passage. Crete assailed him with a 
furious storm, at the same point where St. Paul suffered 
from the fierce Euroclydon. Endeavouring to make some 
port or other, the ship beat under the lee of Mt. Ida, which 
frowned in the distance with a black wreath of thunder- 
clouds. Suddenly the rain fell upon- the jagged ridges, the 
wind, of course, changed, and sent the ship westward^ to 
our wish. The shower passed, and as the clouds died away, 
the pyramidal summit of Ida peered above the lower moun- 
tains with the same majesty as when Jove rose to birth, 
itnd took his first lessons about its peak. His juvenile prac- 
\ice in wielding the glittering bolt required an instructor 
worthy the home of that Minos, whose laws are now thun- 
dered by European artillery, not with a tyro's hand, but 
with the skill of a well-taught engineer. The modern Titans 
^lave grasped their rifles, and often defeated the Turkish 
nvader, but unhappily, the interference of Christian mon- 
archs favours the Sublime Porte and abandons Crete to 
slavery. If the shade of old Rhadamanthus could re-appear 
and greet the presence of the civilized diplomatists, who 
wrangle about the balance of power, and leave the fairest 
portions of earth to ruin, he would claim the thunderbolts of 
law and science, and order them back to Greece. Then, 
indeed, would Crete' smile again with an hundred cities, 
thriving with unexampled prosperity, as in days of yore, 
when she supported her citizens all at the public expense, 
a perfection of policy which no modern people can boast 1 
Oh, thou transcendent democracy of antiquity, centering 
about Mt. Ida ! descend from thy celestial wanderings, quit 



180 SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

the historic page, and live once more ! Monarchs of Chris- 
tendom ! you have the power to speak and let the oppressed 
go free ! Unfurl the eagle-banner of Minos, holding Jove's 
bolts, and thunder-strike the despot, until Crete regains her 
laws. 

A tremendous gust of wind withdrew the ship from the 
sight of injured Crete, and sent her bounding, upon the 
broad bosom of the Mediterranean, until she rested her keel 
in the harbour of Malta. On landing at the quarantine, 
we saw perpetual funerals ; mourning filled the air with 
sighs ; and death was in every street. The cholera was 
busy like an angel of doom, invading all ages, and sacri- 
ficing all ranks without regard to the resistance of health 
or precaution. We trembled at the idea of infection, and 
were as much afraid of the island as Ulysses of the Sirens, 
when he was bound to the mast to avoid being charmed 
away by those fatal maidens. Anchor was weighed ; sails 
spread, and the ship beat with difficulty between Malta and 
Sicily, in company with an English man of war, which, 
being outsailed by our ship, lowered flag as a sign of cheer- 
ing. We returned the salutation, with the Greek banner, 
and then hoisted American colours to show our destination. 
In the evening, a glare burst across the sky, and gave the 
clouds a frightfully horrid hue. Looking towards the north- 
ern sky, we saw a brilliant display of natural fire-works. 
Mt. Mtna. was casting the burning lava from its lofty mouth, 
like some fabulous monster, bursting from his ancient sepul- 
chre to terrify man again. The wind seemed to drive the 
ship toward the dreadful object, but, by tacking, she crossed 
over near Pantellaria, that piratical island, whose cloud- 
capt summit frowns inhospitably on the mariner. 

A furious head-wind prevented our exit from the narrow 



SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 181: 

space between Sicily and Cape Bon, (in Africa,) and almost 
shipwrecked us upon the black rocks of the sunburnt coast 
of Africa. Many of the sable natives, male and female, 
came to the strand, expecting perhaps to gratify their rapa- 
city, by exercising their usual hostility to all nations, in 
misfortune, that happen not to be Islamites. Making a cove, 
in safety, the ship awaited the termination of the gale. Next, 
she issued from her repose passed the bad Cape Bon, and 
came in sight of the dark and bloody-coloured rocks of the 
barren Sardinia, that nest of naval scorpions, the most mer- 
ciless pirates who ever stung commerce with the deadly 
fang of outlaw aggression. The bounding keel sped angrily 
away from its view, the prow contemptuously cast the spray 
towards the disgraceful isle, and the mast*^hrank with im- 
petuous haste, bending as if it would run a race to flee from 
the hated shores. Spain burst upon our view, and the cap- 
tain recognized tlie harbour of Carthagena, whither he had 
often sailed. Meeting some fishermen, a fresh cut was ob- 
tained to vary the monotony of ship food. It was a beau- 
tiful morning, and after breakfast, we came on deck, to take 
the air, and behold the charming scenery ; but as if by 
magic, a thick mist covered the mountains and the coast, 
and almost concealed the sea itself. A Polander on board 
was enchanted at the sight, reminding him of the misty 
north; he sighed like a heart-broken exile, and found the 
Greeks ready to sympathize with him. Scarcely had we 
promenaded the deck a dozen times, when nature gradually 
withdrew the veil from her form, and revealed her charms 
to the astonished beholder. Not a vestige of the fog re- 
mained ; the marshy smell departed, and the fragrance of 
the rosy hills, and embowered vales made the waves look 
blooming ! We admired the gardens yellow with luscious 



J 



182 SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

oranges, and the vineyards purple and white with cluste 
of good taste. Beautiful Spain ! 

" Tall thriving- trees, confessed the fruitful mouJ(d ; 
The red'ning apple ripens here to gold. 
Here tiie blue fig-, with luscious taste o'erflows, 
With deeper red, the full pomegranate glows, 
The branch here bends, beneath the weighty pear, 
The verdant olives flourish round the year. 
****** 
Here are the vines, in early flower descry'd, 
Here grapes discoloured, on the sunny side, 
And there in autumn's richest purple dy'd." 

The green mountains of Grenada, stript of forests, but, 
veiled about ths base with fig trees and vines, retired, 
swelling our sails with their breath, until we found our- 
selves alone with the restless tenants of the deep. Hardly- 
had the flowery image of Spain ceased exciting our fancy, 
when we neared the lightning-rifted, war-scathed hills of 
Algeria, where France is introducing the roses of civiliza- 
tion and the refreshing sway of Christian policy. Islamism, 
the thistle of religion, will ere long be rooted out of that 
once inhospitable clime and nest of legalized piracy. The 
sons of Washington have tamed the vultures of commerce, 
and the countrymen of Lafayette have destroyed their nest. 
One of our crew. Captain George, had been a captive on 
the burning sands of Barbary, and now shuddered at the 
scene of his misfortunes. Capt. Alexandres had battled 
with a Tunisian corsair, and taught the marauder that a 
Greek merchantman can defend the law of nations. He 
described the joy at Ipsara, on the announcement of the 
victory of the Americans, over the legalized outlaws of the 
Sublime Porte ; and that thanks were offered to the Divine 



SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 183 

Justice, and the Doxology sung. The very sight of the 
land where the United States of the persecuted pilgrims sent 
an armament against the scourge of every creed, brought 
the Anglo-Americans into forcible contrast, with the Mu- 
sulmans. We were reminded of Hercules who roved about, 
cleansing the seas of piratical infection, stationing two 
mountain pillars as the gate leading to the ocean, and inscrib- 
ing them with the command, "No further." M>; Te^atrt^a, 
(mee payraiteyro.) Disregarding this antique ordinance of 
a revered hero, his descendants baffled the opposing current, 
passed the Straits and entered the Atlantic. Sailing toward 
Cape St. Vincent, we prepared to bid adieu to Spain. The 
level, embowered, Andalusia, like a lake of verdure vanished 
leaving nothing in the mind but the remembrance of the 
great Columbus, who left those luxurious borders under the 
auspices of the fair Isabella, the world -seeking Queen. 
What monarchs and doctors discouraged and ridiculed, a 
woman brought to light, by her unprejudiced patronage of 
honest-minded genius. 

On heaving insight of Portugal, the Captain ordered the 
mariners to tack ship, declaring that he would follow the 
American fashion of running long distances each way, to 
y^c^ ^r a favourable wind. As Portugal died away from 
view, we reflected on that little realm which, like a grain 
of mustard seed, in former times, grew to a large commer- 
cial tree, so that the seabirds of trade, spreading their white 
wings, reposed on her branches of supremacy by the wave, 
until Spain supplanted her, as mistress of the deep. The 
religious influence of her missionaries in Japan, preaching 
peace and love, and for a season, converting the royal 
family, make a bold contrast with the warlike operations of 
the English in that quarter, at that time. The chief failing 



184 SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 



) 



of the Portuguese was their unwarrantable hostility to th< 
remains of art, and their wanton destruction of many monu- 
ments in the East Indies. The historian and the antiqua- 
rian feel a wound from Portuguese vandalism, incurable 
and unpardonable. Another bad example which they have 
set is their traffic in African captives. 

There is a singular idea among some Portuguese ; they 
say that the name of their city, Lisbon, is derived from 
Ulysses, whose wanderings terminated in Lusitania. But 
a Russian might as well assert that Odessa, called Odessos, 
is derived from Odysseus the Greek name of Ulysses. 

It began to grow sultry and insupportable when we were 
in the region of the Canaries, imagined by some to have 
been the ancient Islands of the Blest, (at vrjcrot twv MuKu^av) 
mentioned by the poets. This point of navigation seemed 
but a commencement of a trans-atlantic voyage. The 
wind hauled more favourably, and we bore down upon the 
Azores; but scarsely had we reached their vicinity, when 
two terrific thunder clouds, charged with all the lightning 
of Dog-days, neared each other from the west, and met 
over our heads. At once they rushed together, their solemn 
volleyed thunders uttered their roarings, making the wave 
tremble like a leaf; and their forked flashes, and chain- 
lightning pierced the deep not far from our ship. This 
unwelcome reception, by Neptune excited terror in Captain 
George, who had never before been out of the straits. 

While he was busy at prayer, and was burning incense 
before the picture of the Virgin, the sad but listless Polan- 
der was playing his violin with perfect indifference, like a 
dying swan. It was a comico-tragic scene, to see one 
praying and burning incense before the saints, and the other 
playing on the violin. The peculiar combative qualities of 



SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 185 

the clouds, about this Portuguese colony, reminded us of 
the country of assassinations and bull-fights. 

A favourable breeze arose and wafted us from the noisy 
and dazzling neighbourhood. Crossing the gulf stream we 
came to the lattitude of 32°, and ran a risk of being becalm- 
ed, but by reaching in season the counter current, floated into 
the regions of JEolus, the borders of the stream. On see 
ing the dark blue Ocean-River, steaming with heat, stolen 
from its Mexican source, and overhung by huge canopies 
of black clouds, the Greek sailors were amazed. Our 
course was through several fields of Gulf-weed, starred 
from its southern abode by the violence of the late tem- 
pest. Capt. George took them to be shoals, but Capt. 
Alexandres, having made two previous voyages to America, 
was aware that it was sea-weed, a spontaneous growth on 
the slimy surface of that part of the ocean south of the 
stream. Ships began to appear in sight, and wondered on 
beholding the Grecian flag waving over the ocean. The 
port-holes and cannon of our craft created considerable 
terror in some, thinking that our vessel was a corsair. On 
telescoping us, they tacked and bore off most precipitately. 
Provisions beginning to fail, Capt. Alexandres was desirous 
of hailing a certain vessel, which, on being overtaken by 
our rapid keel, brought to, and waited to be boarded by 
those whom they looked upon as pirates. As the moustache - 
wearing Greeks mounted her deck, the greatest horror was 
depicted on the countenance of the passengers, especially 
the women, who had a few days previous, left the harbour 
of Halifax, As I knew English, they were astonished at 
the familiar tone in which I addressed them, bidding them 
feel no gloomy apprehensions, as our vessel was a mer- 
chantman, bound to Boston. 

13 



186 SECOND VISIT TO BOSTON. 

After making them presents of fruit and various articles 
to restore cheerfulness to their brows, we bought from them 
some potatoes at a high price, shook hands with the captain 
and re-embarked. 

On nearing the centre of the stream, a storm arose, 
blowing favourably and wafting ua rapidly, from the blue 
abyss, to the green soundings. Arriving at last off Cape 
Cod, a moving forest of fishing smacks branched about, in 
all directions, Threading a thick mist we entered the har- 
bour of Boston, sailing among the beautiful little islands, 
lying in the water like sirens half immersed, during the 
sultry days. The Polander, on seeing the city, exclaimed, 
with tears in his eyes, " O this is now my country !" I 
asked him if he had lost his patriotism. " Poland," said 
he, " Poland is gone forever, and America shall be my 
adopted home !" He then sadly touched his guitar and 
played a mournful tune. His melancholy contrasted with 
the lively enthusiasm of the Greeks. Captain Alexandres 
had taken this countryman of Kosciusko and Sobieski, from 
Greece to this asylum of the oppressed, free of expense, out 
of compassion for that unfortjunate, but brave nation. 
Europe is under great obligation to this people ; for it was 
their gallant son Sobieski who drove the Turks from the 
gates of Vienna, the key of Europe. I rejoice to learn that 
this exile Polander, is married in Baltimore, and is doing 
well, by giving lessons on the guitar, on which instrument 
he plays charmingly well. 



SECOND VISIT TO BOSTON. 

My knowledge of the English language was very service- 
able to Captain Alexandres on shore ; and I resumed my 



SECOND VISIT TO BOSTON. 187 

office of interpreter, with greater success than hcfore. Ac- 
companying several Greeks to Faneuil Hall, [explained the 
history of that cradle of liherty. A great concourse of citi- 
zens were thronging, to listen to a speech from Daniel Web- 
ster, the friend of the Greek cause. The sight of that cham- 
pion of democracy impressed our mind, as with a vision of 
some ancestral personage of our own nation. His expanded 
and prominent brow, and soui-stirring eloquence, connected 
with the unrestrained independence of the multitude, afforded 
a picture of Athens, in her earliest days of popular sway, 
when she had just rejected regal authority. As the city of 
Minerva, by the cultivation of free principles, reached the 
height of refinement, so may America yet arrive at greater 
celebrity, by imbibing their virtue, and rejecting their faults. 
On election day, for curiosity, we wandered along to see 
the process of voting. Coming in contact with the parties 
all at once, we met with a score of tickets, offered perhaps 
out of joke. Captain Alexandres refused, asserting that he 
was not an American, but was still in the Greek service, 
(as I interpreted.) However, they replied that his being a 
foreigner was no obstacle, he could be naturalized, in a few 
moments, and admitted as a voter, just in the same way, 
that thousands of emigrants are frequently Americanized 
on landing by some office-seekers. The captain exclaimed 
with his usual boisterous laughter, " How di^erent this na- 
tion is from the ancient Athenians ! Is it so easy to become 
an American ?" The ofier was probably made in jest. On 
entering State street, I told the Captain, that here the first 
American blood was shed by the British, and that in the 
country, around Boston, were fought the first battles for in- 
dependence. 

The arrival of Black Hawk at that time and other Indian 



188 SECOND VISIT TO BOSTON. 

chiefs at Boston, excited great curiosity in the Greeks. We 
proceeded over the Common through the spacious paths 
shaded by elm-trees, and we were as curious to the Abo?, 
rigines, as they were lo us. The interpreters on both sides 
fell busily at work. The Indians, hearing of the Greek 
bravery and ancient glory, expressed their admiration, and 
called upon their interpreter to pour forth their feelings and 
opinions, stating, that they had been exhibited like tamed 
elephants and lions, throughout the United States, without 
taking any interest in the scenes around them, except by in- 
creasing their sorrow for the loss of their dominions. They 
added as the greatest favour asked of them on their tour, 
that they had gratified the multitude with their war-whoop, 
and shown them the mode of dancing before the scalps of 
their enemies. 

Since my previous visit to America, the face of society 
had undergone an important change. Formerly, plain mat- 
ter of fact was the chief characteristic, but now a host of 
new sciences were brought to light and practice. New 
employments had thereby sprung up, following in the wake 
of discovery. Phrenology was in full cry, after heads! 
The presence of the Greeks contributed much to heighten 
the enthusiasm, and many thousands of people visited our 
ship ; among whom several phrenological practitioners, from 
Washington street, or elsewhere, came, bringing the instru- 
ments and emblems of their profession. Some of the Greeks 
wondered what mystery was at work, and dreaded enchant- 
ment, until they saw Capt. Alexandres submit, without un- 
easiness, to the operation. Next Capt. George was called 
upon to undergo a feeling. Being very superstitious, he 
bethought himself of an expedient to avoid the evil effects of 
magic, and while the phrenologist was rolling up his sleeves, * 



SECOND -VISIT TO BOSTON. 189 

George, sitting a la Turque, made the sign of the cross 
three times, repeating in Greek, '^ Get thee behind me, Satan !'' 
'XTraye oVtV^ fA.bv •ZxTccml The performance of handling 
was now borne without apprehension, but when the phreno- 
logist pressed too hard on the comhativeness of the warrior, 
the subject begged me to assure the cranioscope, that his 
head was not a water-melon to test its maturity ! The 
schedule was found to agree well with his real character ; 
and George, hearing the statement, rendered so exactly, by 
a person whom he had never before seen, made the sign of 
the cross, spit in his bosom, uttered a short prayer, and then 
retired, changed his apparel, and burned frankincense in 
the cabin. Afterwards he often reverted to this astonishing 
science, and declared that the Americans would soon be 
able to raise tffe dead from their tombs. 

My return to Boston, after seven years absence, was at- 
tended with favorable auspices. The celebrated Dr. Howe, 
Director of the Boston Blind Asylum, and friend of Greece 
and Poland, gave me a cordial welcome. I immediately 
found patronage as an instructor of the Greek language in 
Boston and Cambridge. In the institution for the blind, 
(Pearl Street), Dr. Howe submitted to my charge, two hours 
a day, one of his most talented and well-known youths, 
Joseph Smith, for instruction in ancient Greek. In one 
month, notwithstanding his loss of sight, he became familiar 
with the nouns and verbs, pronounced like a Greek, spelled 
and accentuated with facility, and translated from Greek 
printed in Roman characters. This youth was sent to Har- 
vard University, Mass. The Chian exile found employment 
and hospitality wherever he went. The Faculty of Har- 
vard University displayed an earnest attachment to the 
" clime of the unforgotten brave," and listened to his in- 



190 SECOND VISIT TO BOSTON. 

structions and lectures upon the modem dialect, manners^ 
customs and character of his countrymen. As Socrates 
could boast of having many scholars who afterwards be- 
came ornaments of literature, so Castanis, in preparing the 
present work, was surprised in looking back upon his past 
labors to see how many of his early private pupils in 
modern Greek, are now climbing the loftiest summits of 
Parnassus. Not having space to mention them all, he will 
select one name which in his view has rendered himself 
worthy of the lofty trust confided to him by his country. 
I speak of Hale, the Philologist of the Exploring Expedi- 
tion, a son of the celebrated Sarah J. Hale, whose literary 
fame upholds Godey's Lady's Book. His work published 
at the expense of government is a gigantic collection of facts 
relating to the aboriginal languages of America. In that ' 
book, I was surprised to find among the languages of the 
Pacific island, about two hundred words almost identical 
with the Greek ; such as Olelo, for a^Aw, uma for ^f^og, &c. 
Besides this, the Greek positions of the article, such as o 
roi', 57 T^?, &c., are imitated in the Hawaiian, a circumstance 
found in no other language. Truly science has been 
greatly promoted by this cosmopolitan" investigator. 

Josiah Quincy, then President of Harvard, was con- 
spicuous among the Phillhellenes whom I met during my 
stay in this retreat of the muses. Flis warm attachment to 
classic reminiscences was expressed in personal kindness to 
the unfortunate sons of Hellas. Professor Felton exhibited 
a truly noble ardor in Greek learning, and his excellent 
lady was the only female pupil whom I ever taught in 
America. Her attachment to the language, which formed 
her husband's profession exhibited itself in the enthusiasm 
and exactness with which she mastered its complex dialects. 



SECOND VISIT TO BOSTON. 191 

Afccr spending t'.vo years in teaching in private, his health 
suffered from tlic severe climate, and he was advised by the 
physician to relinquish this profession. The next year was 
spent in preparing lectures on Greece. 



192 TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 

In consequence of a close application to the task, and 
feeling his health fail, with the prominent symptoms of con- 
sumption he was advised by the physician to journey. Be- 
ing provided with general letters of recommendation from 
Gov. Everett and the faculty of Harvard University, in the 
year 1839, he commenced a course of Lectures at Boston, 
and thence started on a tour through the Union. In 
the fall of 1839, he visited New York city, and lectured 
in Clinton Hall. Nearly twelve years previous to that 
time, he had been snatched from the burning embers of 
revolutionary strife, and brought to the same strand, as a 
living monument of Turkish cruelty and American philan- 
thropy. But now he had come from regenerated Greece to 
cast the light of historic truth before the minds of those 
friends who were desirous of learning the statement of the 
thrilling struggle for liberty, from an eye witness. He met 
many persons who remembering the Greek lads, were glad 
to see one of them arisen to manhood and expressing his 
gratitude to the benefactors of Greece. The great friend of 
my country, the well-known Dr. Russ, met me with the 
same kind sentiments, with which I had seen him healing 
and consoling the wounded warriors at Poros. From the 
benevolent family of Mr. Stuyvesant (descendant of Gover- 
nor Stuyvesant,)! met with the same cordiality, with which 
they still welcome and relieve many an unfortunate Greek. 

From New York I proceeded to Princeton, New Jersey, 



TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 193 

wh^re I lectured at the hospitable and learned college. I 
found there three Greek students, natives of Epirus, pursu- 
ing a course of education, under the auspices of charitable 
associations. There was also a Constantinopolitan Arme- 
nian, named Sennacherib. It is truly a home-like place, 
and it seemed that Princeton was a spot, transported from 
the soil of Attica, and capable of rearing Greeks with the 
principles of their ancestry. The beautiful situation of this 
institution and its excellent Professors render it a choice 
haunt of the muses. After a happy visit of several .days 
where I had the pleasure of conversing in my vernacular 
tongue, I resumed my wanderings and lectured at other 
places, in this truly hospitable state, and finally took a trip 
to Philadelphia, the city of peace and love. Anxious to see 
the counterpart of the unwarlike and industrious Chians, in 
the followers of the philanthropic William Penn,I mingled 
with that society of brotherly love, and enjoyed uncommon 
gratification. To a native of Scio, there is a peculiar charm 
in pacific and instructive institutions, and what city of the 
whole world can display a more fascinating air of benevo- 
lence and humanity than Philadelphia? Hospitality, the es- 
sence of charity, gives out its fragrance to the wanderer, 
and consoles him for every afflicting remembrance of past 
suffering ; and when I trod the wide regular streets of that 
open-hearted, strict, and candid conimunity, I felt that 
Quakerism, or rather Philadelphism is a blessing. Let 
bigots and quibblers declaim in favour of warlike and pas- 
sionate nations, but let me live among the Brothers and die 
among the Friends, as these people style themselves, sup- 
porting their title by appropriate demeanor. If all mankind 
would take lessons of such fraternity, rapacity and ambition 
would die away, and no battles would be fought except with 
the bloodless pen of reason. May the Divine Providence 



194 TOUH THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 

multiply the peaceful seed which they have sown, untiWthe 
whole Earth shall blossom with love, harmony and the 
works of art. The chaste architecture of Philadelphia fol- 
lowing the Grecian orders, renders that city of peculiar 
interest, as a patron of the classic taste. West, the celebra- 
ted painter, has revived the biblical scenes, by his unrivaled 
genius, and added lustre to the advocates of peace and vir- 
tue. Philadelphia comprises, in her character, all those 
generous and magnanimous resources which tend to true 
refinement. One of the most striking features of her social 
policy, is the custom of the parties established by Wistar, 
for the ^purpose of conversing on scientific topics ; where 
many a literary foreigner, through this means, introduces 
himself, at once, into the highest circles. The exile of Scio 
had the honour of being invited on three occasions to these 
re-unions, through the polite and hospitable attention of the 
late John Vaughan, Esq. one of the worthiest adopted sons 
of that city, who like Lot, regardless of declining age, 
made every exertion to render the stranger's visit agreeable 
and profitable. 

This system of improving the intellectual faculties re- 
minds me of the Symposiums, established by Xenocrates and 
Aristotle, at Athens, in her days of glory. These Grecian 
parties were conducted by the philosophers in the Pryta- 
neum. Academy and Lyceum, and regulated by strict rules 
which the pupils were bound to obey. All conversed for 
the improvement of the mind and the welfare of their 
country. 

I cannot avoid expressing the pleasure with which I fre- 
quented the Franklin Library, an institution which has not 
iLs parallel in the Union for the readiness and promptness 
with which the trustees fulfil to the letter the requisition of 



TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 195 

America's incomparable sage, who snatched the lightning 
from heaven and tlie sceptre from tyrants. (Eripuit fulmen 
ccbIo, sceptrumque tyrannis.) A stranger, who wishes to 
peruse a book, (a privilege for which no fee is required), 
is accommodated speedily and politely, and not as in 
other places, tardily and sullenly. Philadelphia surpasses 
in its literary hospitality most other places. The Philoso- 
phical Society is praiseworthy for the facility which it 
affords to strangers who desi^-e to examine its books and 
documents. The Franklin Mechanics' Institute patronises 
munificently all gentlemen of literary worth, and of artistic 
or inventive genius. Franklin adopted truly a worthy city. 

Concerning the excellent taste of the Philadelphians in 
architecture and their love of the Grecian orders we might 
say much, but the details fcr this and other places will be 
more interesting to the Greeks. 

1 thank heartily the trustees, teachers and pupils of the 
private and public schools of Philadelphia, for the burning 
interest they exhibited in listening to my accounts of the 
sufferings, sacrifices, exploits, customs and manners of my 
countrymen. Let the children of America be assured that 
their love towards the country of Marco Bozzaris will be 
made known to the children of^Greece, and tliey know how 
to praise them. 

In the present work, of course, it cannot be expected that 
I shall describe or even name all the institutions, benevo- 
lent and literary, in which the cities of America abound, 
but it certainly belongs to a Greek to speak of the magnifi- 
cent temple of learning, bearing the name of Girard Col- 
lege. It does honour to America. Its durable outward 
appearance, its luxurious interior, and the exactness and 
beauty of its architecture astonished me. It seemed like 
a trophy of gratitude left by a generous son of that 



196 TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 

generous nation, whose sword interfered to secure both 
American and Grecian independence. Girard made his 
earliest gains from the French Colonies of America, and 
his last from the trade of Philadelphia, and thus regarded 
America as the home of his spirit. Yet not blinded by the 
love of gain he left a brilliant bequest, before which that of 
monarchs sinks into insignificance. 

Like the Athenian Academus, he has immortalized not 
only himself but the city which his generosity has honoured. 
May the trees in its enclosure never serve to raise bulwarks 
against the citizens, as those of Academus' olive grove 
served Mithridates in besieging Athens. 

My interview with President Allen was a delightful one. 
I shall bear the remembrance as that of the restoration 
of some Greek ruin to its pristine beauty, and the re-em- 
bodiment of the friends of literature that moved beneath its 
stately columns. One thing there reminded me of Plato's 
prohibition, though perhaps the comparison may not be a 
happy one, for he refused to admit into his academy all 
persons ignorant of geometry, but Girard excludes all the 
professional servants of Christ. 

The Hon. Joseph R. Chandler, a citizen of Philadelphia, 
was a valiant defender of the Grecian cause during the 
whole period of the revolutionary struggle. With a press 
for a bulwark, a pen for a weapon, and an excellent journal 
for a banner, he fought against those narrow-minded poli- 
ticians who alarmed the country with liieir pusillanimous 
fears, that the anger of England, France and Russia would 
chastise America for her sympathy towards the suffering 
" clime of the unforgotten brave." Through his in(luence,>4 
an extraordinary effort was made in favour of establishing 
a relief society. A Greek committee was organized in the 



TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES. 197 

Masonic Hall, Dec. 10th, 1823. The Right Rev. William 
White, (Bishop of Pennsylvania,) was chairman of the meet- 
ing. Matthew Carey Esq., a Roman Catholic and truly one of 
the most efficient friends of the noble cause which he had 
espoused, was appointed secretary. 

The chairman made a short but eloquent address, which 
resulted in the immediate organization of a society which 
was a noble rival of those of Boston, New York and Balti- 
more. It seems that Catholics and Protestants went hand 
in hand in accomplishing this laudable work. 

Feb. 28th, 1827, Rev. G. T. Bedell, of the Episcopal 
Church, preached an elegant and affecting sermon in St. 
Paul's Church, in aid of the Greek fund. 

The impartiality of Chandler's mind was seen in the jus- 
tice which, in his columns, he rendered to the injured Con- 
tostaulos, the agent of the Greek government for the pur- 
chase of the frigates, of which one was at last rescued from 
the rapacious contractors, and sent full of supplies to Greece. 
Such men belong not to their country alone, but to all man- 
kind. 

Having procured private recommendations, the only pass- 
ports required in this free land, I departed, directing my 
course to Delaware. 

In my rambles through that smallest of the States, I 
lectured at the principal towns, and met everywhere with 
the most cordial attention. Wilmington is a hospitable city. 
At Newark, I delivered a course before the College, and 
enjoyed the honour of a numerous audience through the 
kind inftuence of the faculty, and especially of Prof. Allen. 
My next trip terminated in Maryland. Arriving at Balti- 
more, I stopped at the City Hotel, Barnum's, an excellent 
house. This beautiful and enterprising city nobly contri- 



198 VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 

buted to the relief of the suffering Greeks, during their Re- 
volution. The liveliness and jollity of both sexes, in that 
connnnunity, combined with her black-eyed fair, reminded 
me of Grecian society. Since that epoch Baltimore has 
placed herself foremost in the ranks of temperance, and, 
under the watchword of Washington, has secured a trophy 
of reform. She has rendered her monument to the father 
of American liberty, an emblem of one of the greatest, and 
most saving moral revolutions of the age. 

VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 

Having spent a fortnight at this place, I proceeded to 
Washington, (D. C.) There Mr. Mills, the architect of the 
public buildings, received me in his house with marked at- 
tention ; his fondness for the classic orders endears his heart 
to every thing pertaining to the land of Phidias ; and his 
son-in-law, acknowledging a noble Greek from the isle of 
Hydra as his sire, naturally creates a kindred feeling for 
the land of the muses. 

Through the politeness of the late Mr. Forsyth, (then 
Secretary of State,) I was introduced to many distinguished 
personages. I thanked personally Henry Clay for his elo- 
quent speech in behalf of Greece. I often attended the 
congressional debates, and heard the opinions of this rival 
of the Amphictyonic League. 

The general sympathy of this Grecian-minded assembly, 
in their hall, supported by Greek architecture, was displayed 
in favour of Greece, in the darkest hour of her misfortunes 
when her fate was trembling betwixt extinction and deliver- 
ance. The piracy perpetrated by despairing Greeks, on 
some American vessels, called forth, from a prejudiced 
member, considerable sarcasm ; but should the fault of two 



II 

II 



VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 199 

or three individuals, be cast upon the nation at large? As 
well might you call America a pirate-community, because 
many of the most daring marauders of the seas, have been 
Americans. It was remarked that piracy was not regard- 
ed as dishonourable among the Greeks. This terrible accu- 
sation of an injured and almost expiring nation, on the floor 
of Congress, is enough to call tears from the eye-witnesses 
of the sufferings that Greece endured from the piratical 
Moor and the lawless Turk. Greece is the victim, not the 
organ of piracy. She is the mother of Castor and Pollux, 
with their star-spangled banner of free trade ; her sons 
Theseus and Hercules, first cleansed the sea of^ Pirates, and 
she it is that lately was honoured by the thanks of the 
Sublime Porte, lavished on the immortal Canaris, who went 
about like Hercules, destroying all the rapacious monsters 
of the Mediterranean. Who, in the brilliant glare of the 
Grecian annals, will expose his dastardly soul to the stigma 
of the fanaticism of ignorance, by condemning a nation on 
the score of a few rascals 1 Such an argument may be 
retorted with the most cutting effect, and on such principles, 
America must be made accountable for all the piracies of 
Kid, Mason and others, perpetrated on all nations, with a 
cruelty unequalled by the Algerines. 

The good sense of this independent land, allows every 
man to speak his mind, and it is useful to know what opini- 
ons are entertained, on Grecian character, that we may 
answer them. Those bigoted, unjust tyrants of mind, who 
assail the general character of a race from the crimes of a 
few members, are too despicable to need an answer ; but the 
elevated rank of a certain orator, who attacked the Greek 
nation, with the venomous fang of back-biting reproach, has 
called forth the present burst of sympathy for my national 



200 riSIT TO AMERICA. 

honor, polluted, but well avenged by abler statesmen who 
reflect glory on this democracy, 

Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, by their demosthenic 
eloquence, have dispelled all the accusations that arose 
against Greece, in her days of torture ; and have started 
millions of their countrymen to return a share of gratitude 
to the land of Solon, and to relieve agonizing humanity. 
But in this hasty sketch, I have no space to depict the tie of 
sympathy which, through these mighty intellects, has bound 
America and Greece forever in unison. 

The architecture, disconnected with sculpture, (except 
the Capitol,) is grand and elegant. The Treasury depart- 
ment, Patent Office, and General Post Office, are beautiful 
in their frame work; nothinsj is wantinor but an Athenian 
mixture of sculptural and bas-relief ornament, to render 
them perfectly attractive. The Patent Office, within, con- 
tains a host of entertaining objects of American invention, 
presents from foreign kings and potentates, and many a 
sabre of an Islamite, sent as an emblem of the means of 
converting mankind to the doctrines of the false Prophet of 
Arabia. These gifts from abroad, especially those from the 
Mussulmans, are sent to the Monarch of America, because 
they know not that whatever they send to him belongs to 
those that have chosen him. Such is their ignorance of the 
hostility to bribery, enjoined by the Constitution of this 
democracy. 

The Capitol is unsurpassed from the base to the lower bor- 
der of the domes, above which it wants only Minarets to as- 
sume the appearance of a Mosque, at a distance. The ancient 
Athenians built their Odeon, from the spoil of the routed 
Persians, and surmounted the edifice by a dome, constructed 
of the masts and spars of the Persian ships, intending there- 
by to remind the common people of the d©me-like pavilion 



VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 201 

of Xerxes. The Odeon was a useful trophy, a historical 
memento of the overthrow of the barbarians, and when the 
Athenians beheld the dome, they regarded it as the symbol 
of a despotism which they must always abhor and repel. 

On looking at the American Capitol, two associations 
arise to the classic mind. The splendid columns typify the 
refinement of the free people of this democracy; the domes, 
on the contrary, indicate the barbarous acts of the civilized 
English invaders, burning the Hall of the purest policy of 
earth and devoting its citizens to the sword of tyranoy. 

In these remarks, Ihave avoided sarcasm against the 
sons of Albion, except, in such proceedings as those which 
the immortal Pitt and other gigantic and classic English 
minds have reproached, in the terms of unsurpassed elo- 
quence, before the Parliament. Whatever, I say therefore, 
is nothing but a reflection of Albion's mind. She has been 
a great benefactress to mankind but often acts the part of old 
Rome. 

The paintings and bas-reliefs of the Capitol, representing 
distinguished personages and revolutionary and colonial 
scenes, are tasteful. The monument erected to those who 
fell in checking the Turkish corsairs, in Barbary, is a thrill- 
ing object of contemplation to a Greek spectator. The exile 
of Scio, on beholding the bas-reliefs, portraying the turban- 
ed heads of the myrmidons of the Grand Seignior, was 
convinced that the wrongs inflicted upon his nation by the 
Sublime Porte, had given a share to these transatlantic 
shores. The mythological emblems on the top of this 
trophy are appropriate and well designed. 



14 



202 



TIIIKD VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 

On my third visit to Washington, (April, 1842) I saw 
the statue of the father of his country, by Greenough, a 
distinguished American sculptor. This good specimen of 
rising talent does honour to America, but should be placed 
m a more conspicuous location. Let it stand on the front 
of the capitol, facing the Presidential residence, and over- 
looking a portion of the vast territory of this democracy. 
Position is half the statue ; and on contemplating the con- 
finement of this work, we imagine that it pants for the 
outer air, and longs to see the land, which the typified spirit 
rescued from despotism. If the climate forbids the removal 
of this manly emblem of the wielder of the modern warlike 
thunders of artillery, in favor of liberty ; if the exterior air 
would mar its noble proportions by the storms, let it remain 
where it is, not alone, but attended with kindred emblems, 
ornaments of bas-relief, and miniature statues. A nation 
which personifies its means of thought, and its springs of 
action by sculpture and painting, presents to the world an 
irresistible charm, capable of soothing savages, and reduc- 
ing demons to clemency. It is the special duty of demo- 
cracy to patronise the labourer and the artist. The build- 
ing of public edifices in the Ionic, Doric, or Corinthian order, 
calls out the greatest variety of ability. The quarries of 
granite and marble were intended as materials to exercise 
the mind. Should the noble specimens of this land be ne- 
glected, while sculptors are springing up, or at least ready to 
arise at the touch of the magic wand of patronage ? Has 
God left marble as a dead weight upon nature? Shall it 
lie like an incubus upon this country ? I need not say that 



THIRD VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 203 

the American sculptors and architects, are giving expressive 
life to the enduring marble which God has placed beneath 
their feet. Many of these champions of the chisel and the 
compass, have gone to Europe and challenged her mightiest 
intellects. The halls of monarchs are often indebted for 
an ornament to American talent. Some of the pilgrims of 
art have returned to commence a glorious career on their 
native stand. The most able defenders of national credit, 
are such men. ,. 

If a universal call is made for sculpture and painting, a 
host of competitors would start up from the city ;iind forest. 
Perhaps the aborigines, by turning their attention to such 
performances, might rival civilized men. But patronage is 
the only means of discovering genius. In this respect the 
age of Pericles is a proper model. Phidias received for the 
statue of the Olympian Jove its weight in gold. It is 
astonishing that the single city of Athens became so capa- 
ble of superior excellence above the mightiest nations. The 
Egyptians, forgetting their pyramids, were impressed with 
awe on reaching Greece, where they behold the mountains 
girt with temples, and capped with clouds and porticoes. 
The lofty promontory of Sunium appeared like the vestibule 
of Attica saluting the approaching mariner far o'er the wave. 
In Egypt the scourge of despotism heaped rocks on rocks, 
in stiff outline, as if to scale heaven in a war of giants. 
But in Greece liberty paid and repaid her ablest labourers 
and artists, not only with the myrtle-wreath of honor, but 
with the gold and silver crown of recompense. What a 
magnificent contrast between despotism and liberty ! The 
former heaps rock on rock, and excavates huge caverns in 
the bosom of the earth. The latter on the contrary arrays 
nature in charms of divine significancy, emblems of virtue, 



204 THIRD VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 

and tokens of heroism, love, gratitude, and piety. Look at 
the lofty Acrocorinthus of antiquity, crowned with splendid 
monuments, the summit of which was nearly two thousand 
feet above the surface of the sea. The sides of that magni- 
ficent hill of Corinth were decorated with temples and sta- 
tues down to the water's edge. The statues on the roofs 
of the temples on the peak of this mountain were seen stand- 
ing apparently in the clouds — they seem to defy the bolts 
of Jupiter and commune with the Olympian messengers. 
The eagle alighted upon their crest, and mocked the rage 
of the elements. When the sky was arrayed in summer 
azure, the hill where the Corinthian elegance congregated 
its master-pieces, exhibited itself as the sublimest combina- 
tion of art and nature which the whole world afforded. The 
olive groves embraced the sacred enclosures of the fane. 
The golden apple, the pomegranate and the vine enriched 
the luxury of the view and enlisted the senses in the cause 
of refinement. The birds gave a tone to the scene, and 
made the statues vocal with harmony and instruction. The 
mariner sailing up the Corinthian Gulf riveted his gaze 
upon sublime Acrocorinthus. The traveler from the sum- 
mit saluted Athens, far in the distance, greeted Parnassus, 
and hailed the most memorable heights of the classic land. 
Grandeur, magnificence, and sublimity of nature were the 
basis of Greek art. Is America unable to cope with such 
pre-eminence 1 I answer, she is capable of the highest 
attainments in the pursuit of civilization and improvement. 
Her sciences have already subdued steam and electricity, 
those furious elements of nature. She has made the first 
practical and conclusive demonstration of the efficiency of 
many inventions. The monarchies of Europe are some- 
times thrown into the shade by the talent of this land. 



THIRD VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 205 

The materials for American statuary and painting afford 
a broad field of genius. The heroes of their revolution have 
been painted to the life, but not 1o the fancy. They must 
be divested of too much drapery, and thrown into expressive 
attitudes. Nature must not be copied vi'ith servility. Beau 
ideals of the most common figures should be formecJ; Phidias 
in his bas-reliefs of the Athenians, at the battle of Mara- 
thon, divested the heroes of armour and shields, and de- 
nuded them as much as possible, in order to display the 
action with more force to the imagination. In representing 
the Persians, he allowed them only a turban and tchakshir, 
because those emblems were sufficient to denote their race. 
Besides marble, the Athenians used ivory, gold, bronze and 
other substances, to represent not only heroes, orators and 
poets, but even insects, animals and plants. The capitol of 
the Corinthian column, was a perfect imitation of the acan- 
thus leaf. Nature affords resources for elegance which 
man cannot exceed. For that reason the Corinthians fol- 
lowed nature in every representation, and stamped the most 
elegant flowers upon the enduring marble. It is therefore 
impossible to find any thing to surpass the works of our 
sovereign architect. They differ in excellence, and the ob- 
ject of the artist is to select, his skill consists in choosing 
the best models of imitation. The unrivalled statue of 
the goddess of beauty was copied from an assemblage of 
maiden charms. 

In the American sculpture it is necessary to introduce 
ornaments to accompany the work. If Pericles had called 
out the talent of Greenough on Washington's statue, that 
primeval patron would have directed the same artist to add 
a few embellishments to adorn the masterpiece. A colossal 
image cannot stand alone. Phidias surrounded Olympian 



206 THE CAPITOL. 

Jove with bas-reliefs, small figures of nymphs or goddesses, 
and every thing calculated to attract attention, and save 
the statue from the gloom of solitude. Let the statue of 
Washington be surrounded with ornaments of bas-reliefs, a 
small image of liberty, a group of the graces, emblems of 
all the States of the Union, and other insignia of democracy. 
Let the Father of his Country speed the eagle from his 
palm, and have the lion in a tame attitude under his foot. 
By such means, the immortal work of Greenough would 
assume true life, like a master-spirit, and rule over a world 
of beauty and allegorical truth. At present, the absence 
of ornament gives the statue a solitary, dreary and stern 
look. When artists wander abroad, let them study nature 
on the hills of Corinth and plains of Attica. The remnants 
which stand there even now are fine lessons for taking sights 
and prospects of architectural effect. When they return to 
America let them shape the Alleghany mountains to similar 
objects of majesty and splendour. The hills about their 
cities would delight the beholder if they were crowned with 
architectural masterpieces blended with the branches of their 
primeval forest. Pilgrims would come from every land to 
visit the attractions of the New World. The influx of rich 
travelers would add life and animation to business. The 
expense of erecting the most costly ornaments would be 
amply repaid by the tribute of admiring millions of the 
devotees of curiosity or talent. 

THE CAPITOL. 

The commanding position of the capitol, and its unsur- 
passed communication by sea and land, render it the most 
convenient resort for the deputies of the new world, and the 
ambassadors of the old. Here seerns to be the Thermopylae 
of libevty, and the Salamis of victory combined at one point. 



VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON. 207 

It is the left side of the ocean-bounded democracy ; and 
here is the heart, from which the veins of colonization reach 
the Atlantic and Pacific. Virginia, the mother of states, 
lies under the constant gaze of the guardian-genius of Union. 
Here let the proud European make his pilgrimage, and im- 
bibe useful teachings, from this fountain of international 
peace, and constitutional rejection of the rapacious conquest- 
making and world-seeking plans of absolute monarchs, 
or ambitious aristocrat-leagues. 

At Georgetown, a city separated from Washington by 
Rock creek, I was hospitably received at the celebrated 
Jesuit College. Fathers Joseph Lopez, George Fenwick, 
Virgil Barber, and other members of that kind and bene- 
volent community, displayed an attachment for Greece con- 
soling to the Chian exile. 

. I was rejoiced to see that the Latin Church, as it exists 
among the Franks in Greece and Turkey, is no criterion 
to judge of its members at large. If bigotry and servitude, 
handed down from the dark ages, deface the papal devotees 
in the Orient, we find proofs of a better spirit in other places. 
The association of the Roman Catholics of Georgetown 
with my wanderings and their enthusiasm for Chrysostom, 
Gregory, and other Greek fathers of early Christianity, dis- 
play the most convincing signs of the restoration of union 
and fellowship between all sects and communities of the 
followers of Christ. 



VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON. 

Descending the river Potomac in a steamboat, for seven 
miles, I reached the city of Alexandria, on the right bank. 
The citizens kindly granted me the use of one of their best 
halls, (free of charges,) for lecturing. During my stay, I 



208 VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON. 

mounted a horse, invested with my red Fes and shaggy 
Capote, and started without a guide for Mount Vernon, 
nine miles distant ; the road was irregular, and in some 
places almost impassable, but the spirited steed surmounted 
every obstacle ; the negroes, unaccustomed to behold the 
rider's Greek cloak with its hood over the head, to avoid 
the rain, frequently left their occupation, and fled behind 
the trees. Perhaps they thought that some wild Indian had 
broken loose from the boundary, in spite of the territorial 
agents. Being desirous of inquiring the way, I pursued a 
flock of them at full speed ; and although they scampered 
like ourang-oulangs, I succeeded in running tlwin down. 

On reaching Mount Vernon, I met not Joice Heth^Wash- 
ington^s nurse^ but a venerable negro of intelligent look, 
one of the gardeners. He took charge of my steed, and 
guided me to the former residence of the hero. The simpli- 
city of the house made a powerful contrast with the luxury 
which the Greek exile had seen in the abodes of his tyrants. 
Portraits of various members of the family, and a beautiful 
bas-relief under the mantle- piece were the principal orna- 
ments. Being requested to enroll my name in the register 
of visiters, and fearing lest I should never return to this 
holy spot, I wrote the following lines in Greek and English, 
" C. P. Castanis, one of the few who escaped from the 
dreadful massacre on the island of Scio, in 1822." 

We went to the old tomb which is near the house, and 
overlooks the river ; and next entered a grove, and visited 
the new sepulchre of the warrior, recently constructed of 
brick, and enclosing two marble sarcophagi, one of which 
contains the remains of his wife. The negro told me that 
they were presented by a Philadelphian. The only orna- 
ment upon the plain stone was the name of " Washington." 
That is a plenty, I exclaimed. 



VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON. 209 

I tasted an orange, raised upon the solemn soil of Mount 
Vernon, and found it as sweet as the golden apple of Scio. 
I purchased from the green-house a nosegay, comprising 
various flowers and plants, similar to those of my own 
coimtry, and still preserve tiiem with reverence. 

Standing amid the primeval forest trees on the Mt. Vernon 
estate, I felt a mysterious influence, like that arising from 
a ruin of ages past, although it was but in the memory of 
thousands now livinfr that the hero was consigned to his 
sarcophagus. I recalled my emotions at the sight of the 
marble tomb of Themistocles on the Attic strand, kissed by 
the JEgean billow and greeted by sea-girt Salamis. Wash- 
ington and Themistocles then appeared to my fancy. The 
trees assumed the appearance of Persian ships ; and the 
Potomac that of the purple wave of the Salaminian straits. 
Washington stood as a spectator of the victory of Themis- 
tocles. Anon, Hellenic glory greeted my vision; anon bar- 
baric darkness loomed terribly around. The clash of 
ancient armor was exchanged for the thunder of modern 
artillery, and bloody Mars hovered in the midst of the sul- 
phur smoke of destructive explosions, like volcanic eruptions 
hurlins^ nations out of existence and causing magnificent 
monuments to crumble. The spirit of liberty fled in distress 
from her native land and roamed westward, and soon the 
trackless wilderness became her domain. There the spirit 
of Washington acted, while that of Themistocles beheld the 
revival of popular sway and gave the Greek name of Demo- 
cracy to the American form of government. 

The name of Washington should be ever associated with 
that of the hero of Salamis; for America's warrior was not 
unassociated in intellect with the glorious past. He knew 
Themistocles in spirit, and acted as the Grecian would have 



210 VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON. 

acted under the same circumstances to support the cause of 
freedom and give a lesson of terror to ambitious and mer- 
ciless tyrants. 

At this revered point of my travels, terminates the detail- 
ed description of my journeying in America, and I call the 
reader's attention to other topics. My intention is to make 
a separate work upon America and to publish it first in 
Greek for my countrymen. The notes which I have taken 
will embrace more time and space than those perhaps of 
any other traveler, not excepting even those English Icrds 
and other travelers of a lower grade, who have satiated 
the world with accounts more or less false of a land which 
they feel bound to satirize. I could not introduce into the 
present work the voluminous tale of names belonging to the 
places I have seen, much less touch upon the curiosities of 
all kinds, such as caves, natural bridges, cataracts, Indian 
mounds, and whatever improvements in art or beauties of 
nature I have met with in this adopted home. I have wan- 
dered in all directions through the United States from Maine 
to Louisiana, at least a hundred thousand miles by steam- 
boat, railroad, stage-coach and canal, and have lectured in 
nearly all the principal towns and villages of the Union. 



EDUCATION IN AMERICA. 211 

CHAPTER XV. 

EDUCATION IN AMERICA. 

During his rambles, he has been enchanted with the sys- 
tem of education, pursued in the colleges. The study of 
the ancient dialects of his native language is carried on 
with enthusiasm, and cultivated to such an extent, that the 
poor Exile himself felt proud of his Grecian origin, in spite 
of misfortune. The inquisitiveness of the Americans, he 
regards not as a vice, but as the virtue which characterized 
the ancient Athenians. 

During his ten years' wanderings in his second mother- 
land, he has found traces of his ancestral spirit and fresh 
mementoes of the indissoluble connexion, he might almost 
say identity^ of the Greek and American character. A 
Greek here beholds home-like objects, crowding about his 
path ; the government is democratic ; the architecture is 
classic; the people are inquisitive; the society is unpre- 
judiced ; and the literature of the country, even some of the 
highest models of oratory and poetry, are grounded on 
Greek subjects. The muses here acknowledge many an 
inspiring name, and Apollo has snatched immortal titles 
from forest-born genius. The old Roman spirit of Europe, 
4:ombined with gladiatorial murders has not dared to invade 
the Pierian wilderness of the new world. Here, the peace- 
ful love and lore of the golden age breathes from every 
rock and river, while the gigantic strength of the back- 
woodsman with the flaming sword of national protection, 
keeps Europe's tyrants at bay, and exerts his influence to 
make the world respect the classic shores. As the gigantic 



213 EDUCATION IN AMERICA. 

primeval Cretans nourished and educated infant Jove, about 
Mt. Ida, so the strong and refined arm of American phi- 
lanthropy fed, clothed and educated many an infant des- 
cendant of those god-like fathers of the Grecian race. 

The writings and doings of Mrs. Sigourney, of Hartford 
(Conn.), those of the generous hearted Mrs. Willard of 
Troy (N. Y.),and Mrs. Phelps, sister of the latter, in favour 
of suffering Greece, echo to the heart of the classic land.* 
Gov. Everett's noble and liberal-minded defence of the mis- 
represented character of the Greek nation, and his many 
treatises upon its language, manners and customs, are mo- 
dels of taste and historical accuracy. The writings of the 
Hon. John Pickering of Boston, present a learned series of 
treatises, on the modern and ancient Greek tongue, indis- 
pensable to the man of letters. 

The lofty and copious compositions of Bryant's muse, 
the grand and energetic effusions of Percival, and the bril- 
liant and spirited verse of Halleck, have opened a new 
Castalian source, breaking the bounds of national prejudice, 
and acknowledging the whole world as its home. 

The historic and traveling sketches of Howe, Post and 
J. P. Miller, of Vermont, and the innumerable productions 
of other benefactors and friends of Greece forbid the at- 
tempt to cite them even by name in this limited work. The 
efforts of Yale College, Harvard University, Princeton Col- 
lege, Amherst College, Kenyon College (Ohio), and others 
of the prominent institutions of learning in behalf of wis- 
dom-seeking Greeks, deserve eulogies which should be 
given by the classic land itself. Rev. Dr. Durbin, Rev. Dr. J. 
Colton, of Cincinnati, Gov. Seward, of New York, the late 

» One of the latter ladies, (Mrs. Willard,) had given $500 for the 
education of Greek females at Athens. 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 213 

Rev. Dr. Bedell, of Philadelphia, and the late Dr. Henry 
T. Farmer, of Charleston, S. C, and the Rev. Ezekiel G. 
Gear, of Ithaca, New York, have employed eloquence, 
poetry, and action, in favor of my countrymen. Among 
the noble women of America, there has been no one who 
has added more lustre to the magnificent social state which 
props this transatlantic power, this " mother of a mighty 
race," than the late Mrs. Mary Chandler. As if she would 
bind her own land to foreign hearts more strongly, she em- 
ployed her energy in favor of the Greek nation, at that 
period when the descendants of Leonidas were treading on 
the neck of the oppressor. It is even said that her devotion 
to the Greek cause hastened the decay of her delicate 
frame. She has left the world, but from her heavenly seat 
she can witness the radiance of Grecian gratitude smiling 
near her own Philadelphian home and destined to be pro- 
mulgated as widely as knowledge itself is diffused. Her 
companion in life whose name is proud among Pennsylva- 
nia's highest intellects, must rejoice to have been united to 
a co-equal in the higher qualities of the heart, whose use- 
fulness no fear of death arose to check. I heard also much 

of the philhellenism of Mrs. Ann M . 

We could mention others, but I prefer to speak of them 
in my vernacular tongue, when I revisit my native land. 
Thousands who have contributed in secret to this cause will 
be openly rewarded by the Supreme Ruler of spiritual re- 
compense. 

THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

I feel it now my duty to reply to several questions of 
learned men who, during my tour, have shown to me a 
particular anxiety to settle several philological points. 



214 THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

What is the nature of the written accents in Greek 1 I 
answer that they denote stress of voice, and prove it by the 
fact that the modern Greeks, in conversation, follow strictly 
the written accent by giving it forcible impulse of the breath. 
If they did not denote stress of voice, originally, they would 
by no means have fallen in, so exactly and scrupulously 
with the prevailing accent of conversation. This deduction 
is incontrovertible. If the accents denote stress of voice, 
why do they clash with quantity? They must naturally 
clash, as in English, for example, you pronounce the words 
" constantly^'' with the accent on the first syllable, but to 
follow the quantity you should accent the second syllable, 
because it is long, having two consonants. The word cir- 
cumstance displays a gross violation of quantity, because 
not only the second but the third syllable is long, being with 
two consonants according to Greek prosody. This conclu- 
sion is decisive. If accent clashes with quantity, how can 
we read the ancient poetry without breaking accent ? The 
verses of the old bards were sung; in music the accent of 
conversation departs, as the language bends to the will of 
euphony with perfect obedience. Look at Homer, creating 
even a poetic dialect, and introducing a consonant just when 
he pleases to favor euphony or quantity. Talk no more 
against the accents used from time immemorial in Greek 
conversation, and marked upon the manuscripts of antiquity, 
to denote stress of voice. These ancient accents harmonize 
with the' impulse given by a modern Greek speaker, and if 
3'ou suppose that they answered any other purpose, you 
must attribute the present coincidence of books and lips on 
this use of the accents to a miracle, a chance, or some 
other cause equally absurd and ridiculous. The greatest 
philologists of the world assert that the modern Greeks have 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE, 215 

preserved the pronunciation of their forefathers. In regard 
to the sound of the vowels and diphthongs, there exists in the 
modern speech, perfect harmony with the spelling. 

Iota, Eta,Upsilon, and several diphthongs have one and the 
same sound ; so in English the sound of the letter e long, has 
ten different representations in the following words ; people, 
field, meet, eat, machine, mete, oeta, Eeneas, conceive, key. 
This example may appear strong or unusual, take another. 
Likewise 1 long, has nine different spellings, in pine, sigh, 
die, fly, eye, dyes, height, buy, aisle. If this is not con- 
vincing, here is another still. So also, a long, has ten dif- 
ferent modes of writing ; in haste, day, sleigh, bey, waist, 
break, aye, guage, gaol, straight. The other letters might 
receive a similar exposal, but the above suffice to explain 
the point in question. The Arabic and other oriental lan- 
guages, as well as western languages, have similar charac- 
teristics, and why should not the Greek be allowed the same 
privilege ? If you try to pronounce all the vowels of the 
written diphthongs, you create a twisting, monotonous and 
disagreeable jargon, offensive to the ear, and drawling to 
the reader. Suppose that the word " eye," were ee-i-ee, 
you would call the man crazy. 

The Greek, pronounced in the Greek manner, is euphon- 
ous, and variegated, without the monotony of the Italian or 
the harshness of the English. 

The modern Greek language has been called by some 
persons, the Romaic; this word means Roman, adopted 
by the Greeks, as a foreign title of pride, under the Byzan- 
tine Empire, but this improper term is almost obsolete, now 
in Greece. The language of the high classes is pure, and 
differs from the old dialect chiefly in the use of certain 
words, just as in English, not a quarter part of the words 



216 THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

are used by one person in conversation, and thousands of 
terms are known only to the literati. 

The nnoderns use the same alphabet, accents and spel- 
ling with the ancients. The Italian language, even where 
it preserves the Latin word, in a recognisable form, alters 
the spelling ; but not so in Greek ; and this remarkable fact 
can only be accounted for by the partiality of the Greeks to 
preserve their tongue, even after their heart has been bro- 
ken by merciless -tyrants. The rules of pronouncing mod- 
ern Greek, are so simple and uniform, that a few hours 
only are requisite to learn them. There is no other lan- 
guage in which a child can begin so soon to read correctly, 
as the Greek spoken in the native style. The vowels and 
consonants are known when the mere alphabet and diph- 
thongs are learned, and the accents are all marked to de- 
note the stress of voice, a circumstance which we believe 
occurs in no other tongue. If the point where the impulse 
of breath is given, in English polysyllables, were marked, 
how much easier English reading would be rendered ? Yet, 
in Greek, great scruple is used to mark the accent to 
facilitate the child and the foreigner. The Greek tongue 
seems to lend itself to the ignorant, and assist their pro- 
gress. 

You ask what is the versification in use among the 
modern Greeks? I answer rhyme and blank verse, which 
sprang up in Greece at an uncertain period previous to the 
twelfth century. The origin of this kind of poetry is re- 
markable. The aristocratic and arbitrary structure of the 
ancient quantity and prosody was adapted only to music ; 
but rhyme and blank verse, depending entirely on accent, 
are well fitted to reading. This new order of poetry, in- 
vented by the Greeks, was first called " National Verse," 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 217 

by a sort of democratic freedom of breaking through esta- 
blished rules, the despotism of the mind and the aristocracy 
of words. One of the most celebrated ancient writers in this 
kind, (as ancient as the preserved old lays of the Germans 
and French),. was Prodromus, a Greek monk who displayed 
much genius in satirizing the clerical order of the reign of 
Manuel Comnenus, in two poems, still extant, written about 
the year 1150. His blank verse is the earliest specimen of 
the systematic equal-measured blank verse of any language; 
it forms an era in poetry. Milton and others have, in modern 
times, consigned this kind of versification to immortality. 
This new fashion of song has been transmitted, by the exiled 
Greeks, to the Saracens and Italians, and from them to 
other nations. In fact, had it not been for Grecian influence, 
the old system of quantity never would have been over- 
thrown with its arbitrary and oppressive regulations, per- 
plexing and numberless ; and if rhyme had been used at 
all, it would never have entered the higher departments of 
poetry, if the Greeks had not set the example under the 
Byzantine Empire, which, down to 1453, was courted by 
the first minds of Europe, and imitated in things pertaining 
to literature. Constantinople, before its capture by the 
Turks, was the great rendezvous of the arts of peace. 
Here we find the Greeks influential in opening a novel foun- 
tain of song, which suits the reader and pleases the ear 
without singing, and this is the turning point, which forever 
separates the modern from the ancient versification. Even 
ancient reading and oratory were a sort of recitative, but 
the modern freedom, introduced by the Greeks calls up the 
varied tones of real conversation, and discards all breach 
of conversational accent. This new epoch in diction, should 

15 



218 THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

be regarded as one of the greatest revolutions in mind, that 
the world has ever witnessed. In our days music goes al- 
most alone, and when it is accompanied by words, the 
meaning can seldom be comprehended, on account of the 
drawlinor of the vowels and the deadenino- of the accent. 
We find in English no public singing of long poems nor 
recitative of Congress speeches, because the. accentual sys- 
tem forbids music. Some of the ancient orators were ac- 
companied by musical instruments, but who, in our days, 
would hold a caucus with a violin and flute? Music has 
become a separate art, an affair of mere emotions, whose 
multiform expressions need no words to heighten or explain 
the meaning ; the works of Rossini, Mozart and Beethoven 
are understood by the heart, without an interpreter. Poetry 
has become an independent aft, an affair of ideas, conceits, 
contrasts and images, which need no music to enhance their 
euphony and their impression on the mind. Nay, many 
persons read a novel in one night and gain entertainment 
through sight, without pronouncing aloud a single word. 

Greece, at present, offers an attractive view to the friends 
of letters. Every city teems with authors and writings; 
even Turkey herself is penetrated by Greek books and pe- 
riodicals, and many printing presses are established in the 
Ottoman empire by the Greek subjects. The Grand Seignior 
boasts only of two Turkish papers, one of which was com- 
posed and published by an Englishman, but in the single city 
of Smyrna, there are five native Greek presses in operation, 
constantly publishing various productions in poetry and 
prose. 

Athens contains upwards of twenty native printing presses ; 
and such is the facility for difflising knowledge, and the 
patronage lavished on talent, throughout Greece and Tur- 



THE grp:ek language. 219 

key, that the literary profession thrives with unexpected 
vigor, beyond what could have been fancied after our 
destructive Revolution, and the confiscation of a great part 
of the Greek property. 

Among the poets just before and during the insurrectioa 
of the Greeks, were Calbos, Chrestopulos (the modern 
Anacreon), Perdicaris (satirist), Rhigas (the modern Tyr- 
tsDus), Rhizos (dramatist), and others. At present have 
arisen, Alex. Soutzos, Panagios Soutzos, Lambises, Orpha- 
nides, Rancaves, SaIteIes,ScyIitzesand others. These are 
sufficient to show that not only the blood but the spirit of 
the' ancient lovers of learning has descended to modern 
times. 

I have often been questioned if the modern Greeks are 
direct descendants of the ancient. As a criterion, let us 
examine the last four hundred years, and see if the Greek 
empire can claim any descendants at present. When the 
last brave monarch of the classic people fell under the 
Turkish scimitar and the Latin artillery in 1453, the Turks 
advanced to the centre of the nation on one side, and were 
met by the papal adherents on the other. The Romish 
Church and the sword of Islamism stood on the bosom of 
Groecia, alternately snatching portions of her mangled form, 
and fighting for her possession until 1715, only a century 
previous to the late Revolution. Thus we have two epochs, 
one of three and the other of one century, subsequent to the 
fall of imperial Grsecia. During the first three centuries, 
the western Christians and the Sultan's myrmidons are con- 
centrating like a double deluge, lashing both sides of Ta)'-- 
getus and Parnassus, and commingling their bloody torrents 
in the defiles. At this period, the Greek nation is an idle 
spectator, in some cases, and in others an ally to one or 



220 THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

the other party. As long as the powers of the west and 
east were fighting for the possession of Greece, they looked 
upon the Greeks as mere instruments of tribute or alliance, 
and never intended to grant them independence. The Vene- 
tians and Genoese were as tyrannical as the Turks, and 
knowing well enough, that the Greeks were Greeks, they 
determined to make them smart for their pedigree. If they 
had harboured the most fleeting supposition, that Greeks 
were French, German or any thing else, they would not 
have enslaved them, plundered their property, and destroyed 
them by fire and sword. When the Venetians gained some 
of their victories by means of Cretans, they felt that the 
Cretans were descendants of the Titans, and they proceeded 
to oppress that island with the blackest ingratitude, in order 
to prevent the Greek blood from gaining the credit of supe- 
rior ability. Do you think that Venice would have lost 
Crete, if she had properly rewarded those mountaineers for 
their services 1 Crete fell under the Turks, when her 
unconquered mountaineers deserted the cause of Venice. 
The Grecian blood boiled at the mention of papal authority, 
and disdained to amalgamate with Goths, Vandals, Huns, 
Romans or their descendants. The Greek race was left at 
the mercy of the Turks in 1715. At this epoch, the Tur- 
kish blood flowed into the country, but was refused by the 
Grecian vein. During this period of one hundred years, 
Greece was almost a perpetual scene of revolt. The Turkish, 
instead of increasing the Grecian race, endeavoured to 
destroy it. The celebrated revolt of the Peloponnesians, in 
1769, the terrible wars of the Suliotes, at the close of the 
past century, and many other insurrections, by land and 
sea, contributed to show that the blood of the remaining 
children of Grsecia was not extinct. When finally the Re- 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 221 

volution of 1821 was echoed, and trumpeted throughout the 
world, exciting poetry and oratory to the climax of expres- 
sion, it seemed that the ancient heroes had burst from their 
tombs. 



222 



CHAPTER XVI. 



WIDE DIFFUSION OF THE GRECIAN RA.CE. 

We have given sufficient proof that the influx of inva- 
ders has not polluted Grecian blood with impunity. We 
now proceed to show that Greece has also been sending out 
a population both eastward and westward. First, the 
wealthy and the learned Greeks, on the arrival of the 
Turks, dispersed in great numbers to western Europe, 
colonising Corsica ; and at the present day, large communi- 
ties of Greeks with their costume, language, religion and 
manners are found in Marseilles, (a Greek colony,) in Ve- 
nice (which has a large Greek quarter), in Trieste, (one- 
third of it is Greek) ; in Sicily, in Calabria, and various parts 
of Austria and Hungary. These colonies are the rem- 
nants of the fugitive- Greeks of the fourteenth, fifteenth and 
other centuries. Besides these relics of the race abroad, 
a great many Greek families took Italian or French names, 
and have given birth to some of the greatest men of Eu- 
rope. In Germany, the traces of Grecian blood distinguish 
their higher classes. It seems therefore, that the Grecian 
veins have not only retained their original fountain, but have 
been a prolific source of high blood in western countries. 

Let us quit the west, and examine the progress of Gre- 
cian blood eastward. Most of the early Sultans' wives 
were Grecian captives ; the most energetic Pashas and Ad- 
mirals were renegade Greeks ; the Janissaries and Spahis, 
their bravest soldiers, -were originally Greeks, forced to em- 



WIDE DIFFUSION OP THE GRECIAN RACE. 223 

brace the Koran, under Orchan and others. Even at the 
present day; the principal physicians of Turkey are Greeks, 
taken captive in boyhood and trained up as Turks. The 
colonies of modern Greeks, retaining their religion, lan- 
guage and manners extend along the whole Ottoman coast, 
and the borders of Russia and Persia. Trebizond and 
Odessa are essentially Greek cities, under foreign sway. 
Moldavia and Wallachia have been, for the two past cen- 
turies, ruled by the Greek princes, whose influence in civi- 
lizing and colonizing their vast territory, has displayed the 
truth that Greek blood is a kind of spontaneous fountain, 
Avhich will never cease to flow, as long as the world jexists. 
In vain have crusaders and Islamites employed steel and 
powder to bathe Greece in foreign gore. In vain have con- 
centrated Goths and Tartars burst their heart upon the clas- 
sic soil. The Greeks refused obstinately and successfully 
all amalgamation with their tyrants, and continue even 
now, to favour none except the lovers of Apollo and the 
patrons of the ?*Iuses. The primeval Greeks who conquer- 
ed Troy, and gave birth to Homer, the monarch of litera- 
ture, were oppressed by the disasters of war, and enveloped 
in the thickest darkness, until Athens and Sparta suddenly 
sprang forth. From the fall of Troy to the days of Pytha- 
goras, it seems that the Greeks roamed abroad to collect 
what they had lost. Herodotus wandered about the world 
to restore the knowledge and science which had been des- 
troyed in the time subsequent to the Trojan disasters. The 
space between Homer and Sophocles resembles the space 
between the downfall of Byzantium and the restoration of 
Athens. The glorious ages of Greece claimed their des- 
cent from the heroic age, and in like manner, the late heroic 
epoch of Greece claims its descent from the enlightened 



224 WIDE DIFFUSION OF THE GRECIAN RACE. 

instructors who fled from the Turks, and have civilized 
modern Europe. The present day displays the Greeks is- 
suing from a new heroic age and roving abroad like Pytha- 
goras, Plato, and Herodotus, to collect what they have lost by 
the scimitar's assaults. The modern Greeks wander beyond 
the bounds of the rambles of their ancestry, and the love of 
learning and other objects, have brought many to the New 
World. Previous to the American revolution, a colony of 
Greeks from Smyrna, were brought over by an English- 
man, for the purpose of cultivating the olive. They settled 
in Florida, and built a town called New Smyrna. During 
the revolt of the Seminole Indians, these Greeks removed 
to St. Augustiue, and Cuba, where their descendants may 
now be found. 

About two scores of Greek youth were brought by Ameri- 
can philanthropists, during the Greek revolution to this 
country, and educated in the Colleges of Yale, Amherst, 
Princeton, Hartford, Athens (Ga.), Kenyon (Ohio), Easton 
(Pa.), and Knoxville (Tennessee). The young men were 
Chians, Epirotes, Athenians, Macedonians and lonians. 
Most of them have returned to their native homes. 

Of the improvement of those brands, snatched from my 
burning country, it is improper for me to speak, by way of 
national pride, but patriotism obliges me to proclaim that 
Greece regards them as worthy insignia of American philan- 
thropy and wisdom. Their influence, in dispelling supersti- 
tion and ignorance, even now flows to the utmost bounds of 
the Ottoman empire. Nicholas Petrocokkinos, a Chian in- 
debted to America for his education, was the editor of a 
periodical at Smyrna, directed by the American Missionary 
Rev. Temple. This literary and scientific work attended 
with engriavings of scenery, distinguished individuals, an- 



WIDE DIFFUSION OF THE GRECIAN RACE. 225 

tiquities, and other useful objects of curiosity, was a Greek 
production under American auspices, highly creditable to 
both nations. It circulated freely throughout the east and 
was perused by the wandering Greek, in the depths of 
Persia and Russia. I know not if it is still continued. The 
importance of Smyrna, as a Greek city, though under 
Turkish sway, is not sufficiently appreciated. It surpasses 
even Constantinople in knowledge and usefulness and may 
be called the central point of communication with Asia. 
Every Christian who desires to see Christianity restored to 
the Apostolic scenes, that paradise of soil and association, 
ought to crown with assistance, imperishable Smyrna, the 
only one of the seven churches that takes the lead in the 
diffusion of Gospel truth. Great facilities are now offered 
for the extension of pure religion to the heart of Asia. 

The Russian eagle has built his nest on Mt. Ararat, where 
Noah's ark rested ; the wall of China shines in the glare of 
his world-seeking eye. England has destroyed the rebellious 
empires on the south. Tartary, that mother of the wildest 
and most merciless races that ever wielded the scourge of 
mankind, is bereft of her most powerful and wealthy con- 
quest and remains at the mercy of those whom she has 
never spared in fanatical strife. Her Tamerlane and her 
Gengis Khan are no more seen extending their stayless 
march from Tartary to the German Ocean, and back ovec 
trackless deserts and wilds, to the Pacific. Poland, Hun- 
gary and Russia are no longer the marks of Tartar inva- 
sion. 

The Scriptural Paradise appears to lie within the grasp of 
the believers in the God who fashioned its first inhabitant. 
This is true, and why stand we here all the day idle 1 
Arise, ye champions of truth, and prepare the way of the 



226 WIDE DIFFUSION OF THE GRECIAN RACE. 

returning Prince of Peace to the New Jerusalem. Should 
the holy mountains of Zion and Lebanon be left a prey to 
the fire and sword of the Bedouin, and the noblest work of 
God be defaced and dishonoured by the attributes of Satan, 
while Christendom is buried in the chilly snows of the 
north, and rearing cities in the howling wilderness of the 
west? Should the very nations which cultivate the earth, 
and make art flourish be forever confined to the most incon- 
venient portions, in Cimmerian darkness and perpetual 
storms? Should Asia, the largest, fairest, loveliest, earliest, 
and most cheering abode of man be almost deserted by 
Christians, and abandoned to the cruelty of Turk, Saracen, 
Tartar, and Bedouin ? Forbid it Heaven ! Jehovah will 
call to account those Christian monarchs who^ through 
mutual jealousy, leave Asia unredeemed. Divine Provi- 
dence will chastise your neglect of the master-piece of soil 
and climate in Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. 
" Arise, or be forever fallen !" Do you not think that the 
spiritual New Jerusalem is entitled to enjoy a natural New 
Jerusalem, a holy city of a peculiar people? I am no ad- 
vocate of the in-coming of the Jews, but what Christian does 
not feel that he has a better right, through prophecy and 
revelation, to the identical hill of Zion than those Musul- 
mans, who only a few years ago massacred thousands of 
Christians in Syria, and burnt to death, with horrid tortures, 
hundreds of Greek priests and innocent families, and de- 
stroyed several monasteries. The English and Austrians 
(1841) interfered and saved the Syrian Christians from 
total extermination. Why does Europe's mighty diplomacy 
disregard the cries of innocent blcod, steaming in its eyes 
from the birth-place of our Saviour, without speaking the 
glorious voice of Jubilee to those Christians, and issuing a 



WIDE DITFUSION OF THE GRECIAN RACE. 227 

command to the now humbled Sultan to let the oppressed 
go free. Shall a Greek merit less favor than a Roman ? 
If perchance a few English subjects had been destroyed by 
the Turks, Constantinople would have burst, in a volcano 
of English revenge, and vanished from the face of the earth. 
If a few Frenchmen had been massacred, the Sublime Porte 
would have fallen like a Lucifer, under the retribution of 
insulted honor. But, forsooth, because the martyr is a 
Greek, should Christendom look tamely on? 

The terrible massacres perpetrated by the Ottoman 
troops in Crete and Wallachia, (1841,) were not censured, 
much less hindered by Christian diplomacy. How long 
will the Greeks be doomed to perpetual martyrdom and tyr- 
anny ? Arise, thou shade of Chrysostom, and preach with 
thy ancient boldness to the heartless Christian monarchs ! 
Ye patrons of the Seven Churches, quit your abodes of 
bliss, and talk of judgment, until the modern Agrippas shall 
tremble ! 

But what do I say? Already many a Grecian youth 
dripping with the blood of his relatives butchered by Chris- 
tian permission and the lawless Turk, is welcomed in his 
flight to Europe, and presented with the benefits of educa- 
tion, as a substitute for all that is near and dear to him. 
England, France, Russia and Germany emulate each other 
in conferring knowledge and science upon the wounded, 
houseless, plundered and starving fugitives. 

The age of Crusades is past, and if all Christian sects 
were united, their simple order would be sufficient to make 
Asia Minor and Syria smile and blossom like the rose. How 
long shall we behold the thistle of Islamism usurping the 
dominion of Sharon's deathless rose? How long shall the 
Gypsy and the Bedouin trample vegetation out of exis- 
tence, and leave nothing but a hot-bed of poisonous herbs 



228 WIDE DIFFUSION OF THE GRECIAN EACE. 

of wrath on those valleys and hills, where formerly gar- 
dens and flowers of art grew in beauty and magnificence, 
under Jew and Greek? The Crusaders, united with the 
Turks, destroyed the last plant and threshold, but the des- 
cendants of the Crusaders, having imbibed a taste of improve- 
ment from tlieir destruction of Jew and Greek, are bound, 
in duty to rebuild the victims of injustice and reinstate them 
on their ancient welcome hearth and everlasting inheritance, 
decreed by the prophecy that assigns Jerusalem to the Jews, 
and Asia Minor to the Greek Seven Churches, when the 
day of restoration arrives. The revival of all Asia Minor, 
under Greek influence, will soon prove the truth of the 
Apostle, who proclaimed that he that persevereth unto the 
end shall be saved. With such promises from revelation, 
the descendants of the old congregations of the seven 
Churches, in Asia, will take advantage of every religious 
and political event, to become independent of the scimitar 
and the Crescent. They look at the practical bearing of 
St. Paul's declarations, and are up and doing, with a full 
intention to regain the land which Christ, through Paul 
has decreed as their inheritance. The crown of life reveal- 
ed in a trance, at Patmos, will soon take the place of the 
Turban. Every event denotes the approaching termination 
of the struggle against Satan. The thundering force of 
European artillery has opened a breach in the walls of 
iniquity and allowed the Missionaries of the Bible to pene- 
trate the recesses of Asia. The heralds of the Cross have 
compassed land and sea to convert all nations to the saving 
precepts of the Son of God. Since Greece is the nearest 
of all Christian countries to the Apostolic scenes, and as the 
Greeks are the most widely diffused over the biblical territo- 
ry, they ought to be the principal pioneers of the Gospel. 



WIDE DIFFUSION OF THE GRECIAN RACE. 229 

Their knowledge of Oriental tongues, manners and customs 
is of great importance to the dissemination of religious 
truth. 

Let this statement encourage the Americans to continue 
in their useful and benevolent plans of educating Greek 
youth. The wise refusal of conquest enjoined by your con- 
stitution withdraws you from all political sway in the old 
world. But by educating Greek youth, you create Ambas- 
sadors who will put in practice your precepts, and accom- 
plish your pious wishes and hopes, even beyond what you 
could ask or think, as long as the Divine Providence guides 
your influence to the hearts of these trustees of your opi- 
nions and morals. 



230 INDEX. 



INDEX. 



There is a point to which I would invoke the considera- 
tion of my American friends, the study of the modern Greek 
language in connection with the ancient. The utility of this 
object is evident from the medium of information between 
America and Turkey, being now opened almost entirely by i 
Greeks, especially since the Revolution. The multitude of | 
Greek periodicals and books springing up from the classic | 
soil are immense resources of oriental life and character, 
and more than all, intellect. We are no longer forced to 
peruse the Arabian Nights, the Koran and other degrading 
compositions of the followers of Mohammed, but a new and 
more prolific source of knowledge is opened by the Greek 
printing press. The missionary to the orient, associates ^-i 
principally with Greeks wherever he goes throughout the » 
Ottoman empire. The language is becoming more widely 
diffused from day to day, and every traveler, ignorant of 
modern Greek, is unable to appreciate oriental society and 
genius. 

On the facility of acquiring this language, I need not en- 
large. Greeks have alveady pubhshed in this country every 
elementary book, necessary to obtain a knowledge of its 
structure. The bookstores of Boston and New York have 
grammars, readers and text books of modern Greek. Col. 
Negris, a celebrated Greek, of Constantinople, has edited 
several works in this country, and excited the first start to 
the study of the modern dialect, besides giving a spur to the 



INDEX. 231 

pursuit of the ancient. Sophocles and others have added 
their labours to those of their predecessor. 

Allow me to remark that with a knowledge of the ancient 
Greek, the modern is comparatively an amusement to ac- 
quire. The difference in the words is less than in the 
structure of phrases. The style of books is entitled to be 
more complicated, but the privilege of conversing in modern 
Greek is, we venture to say, more easily gained than a 
knowledge of French. The Greek has the stress of voice, 
marked by an accent over the proper syllable, and it is na- 
tural that such a circumstance should facilitate in a high de- 
gree the pronunciation. If the English language had its 
accents noted in polysyllabic words, much of the difficulty 
of ibreigners, in learning it, would vanish. In fine, the 
chief complaint made against the faults of a stranger is, that 
he ffives the wrongr accent. Yet in Greek that disadvan- 

o o 

tage is obviated by writing the accent, and the language 
seems to invite and encourage the student onward. Inde- 
pendently of accents, the vowels and consonants are a 
trifling task ; their rules are so perfectly concise and simple 
that even a child, in a few lessons, would be able to under- 
stand their application. 



«i 



ESSAY 



ON THE 



PRONPNCIATION OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

'♦ Go, little work, nnfold thy page, 
And cool the angry critic's rage ; 
Now burns his breast with ire : 
Lest he should call a judgment down, 
And on thy margin wreak his frown. 
May peace his mind inspire." 

The pronunciation of the modern Greek dialect is allowed 
by the literati to be the same as that of the learned men 
who fled westward on the dissolution of the Greek Empire, 
after the taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. 
This pronunciation continued to be used in all Europe a 
century later, until Erasmus of Rotterdam, proposed a 
new method, which after his death continued to gain ground 
during one or two centuries in western Europe, but was 
finally lost in the custom now prevalent in the same coun- 
tries, and in America, of sounding the Greek mostly ac- 
cording to the corresponding spelling of words in their ver- 
nacular tongues. Some persons have even doubted of 
Erasmus's sincerity, since he used in his literary intercourse 
the pronunciation of the Greeks ; and they have attributed 
the spread of his notions, on this subject, to the rivalry of 
German learned men who wished to present a barrier to 
professors and teachers from Greece. Certainly, to pro- 






THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 233 

nounce in a barbarous manner, differently from every other 
nation, has the eftcct to veil ignorance, rather than to dis- 
play knowledge, and while there are thousands of Greeks 
who speak the ancient Greek, there have never been found 
any famous men who spoke the language following the 
sounds proposed by Erasmus. The truth is that the hoy 
and the liie^ the hoiv and the hew of the proposed artificial 
system is too cumbrous, too drawling, and withal too caco- 
phonous to favour rapid conversation and easy delivery. 
Assuredly the 0}'e rotundo of the Greeks, praised so much 
by the Latin, did not consist in such uncouth diphthongal 
articulations which their authors gravely assert to be- imi- 
tated from dogs, sheep, horses, £ind other brutes. This ore 
rotundo was the oval-mouthed or open and clear manner 
with which the Grecian orator delivered his sentiments. 
This ore rotundo may be heard to-day in the courts and 
councils of Athens. It distinguishes the more animated 
conversation of the polished circles of the Grecian State. 
Voltaire hearing it spoken by learned Greeks, asserted that 
that the modern Greek is the most harmonious of all lan- 
guages. It is true that an English scholar glancing at the 
rules for Greek pronunciation exclaims, " what a number 
of representations for ee !" What has become of the ore 
rotundo? Now it must be recollected that the sound of ee 
is the basis of the alphabetic gamut, thus to speak, of all 
tongues; and the other sounds in Greek being all open and 
full there is a greater chance for a bell-toned character than 
in tongues where, instead of the full vowel sounds, ah, ay, 
o, 00, of the Greek, a large number of slight variations from 
these sounds are found, often uttered in a sharp or confined 
manner, a process fatal to euphony. In the Greek, on the 
contrary, there are no vowel sounds whatever, but the full 

16 



234 THE PRONUNCIATION OP 

sonorous ah, ay, ee, o, oo. In the Sandwich and Mare- 
quesas Islands, where the savages speak a language of 
which several hundred words are nearly identical both in 
sound and meaning with the corresponding Greek terms, 
we find only the same vowel sounds. Whether Alexander's 
Indian colonies had by commerce an influence over the 
speech of these savages we will not debate, but their lan- 
guage has certainly the ore rotundo, though not the force 
and variety of the Greek. If nature elaborated so beauti- 
fully those wild dialects, she has certainly most effectually 
been the handmaid of art only in the Greek where the 
monotony of Italian softness is broken by Olympic strength. 
We can cite strains in Greek where one vowel sound pre- 
vails over the others, as in the entire kleptic dirge, com- 
mencing, 

Kai Ta lepdicioi ytd TrovKva Kccl ol TovfK^t yia, «-£ipdXioi. 

Here the alpha prevails and adds much to the effect of 
the grief of the mother, at the loss of her son, slain near 
the Danube in a fight with Turks. The English version is 
wanting in this peculiarity. 

" The fields for rain-drops thirst; the mounts for snow ; 
Hawks for the blood of birds ; Turks that of Grecian foe." 

The harshness of the above is relieved only by the single 
vowels at the end of both lines which contrast singularly 
with the other vowels whose sound is crushed between 
serried consonants. 

We have not space or we would cite here other pieces 
where each of the other vowels prevail. Let any one who 
acquires the modern Greek rules avoid contracting the 



d 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 235 

sounds as in other languages and let the accented vowel 
always be sounded in a full and gliding manner. 

In order to Fatisfy those whose ears need to be led by their 
eyes, let us examine the history of the Greek alphabet. 

It is asserted that Cadmus introduced the Phoenician cha- 
racters into Greece. Subsequently Palamedes arranged the 
first Greek alphabet having its forms and powers adapted 
only to that language. The letters which he employed 
were «, /3, y, ^, e, /, k, A, jtt, v, o, tt, p, cr, r, y, being sixteen 
in number. Cadmus, the Milesian added f , <p, X' Simoni- 
des, the Chian, next invented jj and &>. Epicharmus, the 
Syracusian, formed ^, |, -v^. Here were four improvements 
successively introduced into the alphabet between the time 
of the Trojan war and the flourishing period of the Greek 
colonies in Sicily v*'hose influence seems to have left its 
impress on the language itself. 

Let us now take the letters singly and discuss the merits 
of the modern pronunciation. 

Alpha is sounded like ah. Its name is said to be derived 
from the Hebrew aleph, meaning ox. No writer finds fault 
with the modern Greeks in sounding the letter ; yet the 
American and English literati violate their own logic by 
sounding it either like eij in theT/ or like a in hat. 

Beta is sounded Veetah, that is like the Spanish soft b 
when it occurs in that lanfruao-e between two vowels or be- 

o o 

fore 7\ Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, says that this letter 
is a labial '• intermediate in quantity between Pi and Phi, 
and lighter than the one and thicker than the other." Now 
b as pronounced by the Erasmians would certainly be thicker 
than p, because it is allowed on all hands to be the cognate 
of that element, differing from it only in having a peculiar 
pectoral tone. Dionysius's re^iiarks, therefore, are suited 



236 THE PKONUNCIATION OF 



1 



only to the sound Veeta ; since v is indeed lighter or less 
forcible than p, and thicker of course than its aspirate cog- 
nate, the letter/" or j9A. The description of this letter by 
Dionysius so far back in antiquity ought at once to convince 
any candid inquirer who is not too prejudiced in favor of 
imitations of the sounds of beasts for the sake of which 
Erasmus pleads so furiously. Our opponents often reply 
that Juvenal spells this Greek letter beta and not veta^ and 
that the Latins pronounced the h hard. Now to contradict 
this, it is enough to state that the Latin b was very fre- 
quently sounded like v ; for in old inscriptions and manu- 
scripts we find bernam for vernam, besicam for vesicam, 
balbas for vulvas, according to Adamantius Martyrius. We 
find on an inscription Danubius for Dajiuvius ; priinitibo 
for primitivOj bixit for vixit^ &c. 

Cicero declared that the Latin word bini, was sounded 
like the Greek /3tvf /, a term of reverence in the former lan- 
guage, but of baseness in the latter. The Erasmians, our 
adversaries, say this proves their side of the question ; yet 
they are entirely, and of course most unreasonably silent 
in regard to the final syllable of those words bini and /8ivf < 
which by their own theory would be widely different. Now 
this difficulty does not occur if we consider that the Latin b 
in that particular word (as we have shown in others,) was 
pronounced like the Greek ; because in the Greek way of 
pronouncing the iota and the epsilon iota, there is a perfect 
identity of sound with the Latin i. If the Latin b was in- 
constant in its powers as we have proved, shall we violate 
the pronunciation of the great Haiicarnassian grammarian 
of antiquity, to suit a Dutch scholiast of yesterday.? If 
the plain and lucid description of Dionysius cannot convince 
our opponents, we doubt if they would give a particle of 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 237 

faith to that sublime writer even if* he should rise from the 
dead. Prejudice blinds some minds to natural as well as 
historical truth. 

In the alphabets of the Hebrews, Copts and Russians this 
letter is acknowledged to be sounded like v. The Hebrew 
beth is sounded like b only when it is marked with a dagesh 
or dot. The word David is spelt in Greek dixviS and Ax^l^. 

But our opponents cite the /S;? /Sjj or sheep's cry used by 
Aristophanes. The Greeks say vee, the Erasmians ia ! 
but the sheep make a noise which can be imitated with as 
much effect in one articulation as in the other. M or p 
would answer equally well. The fact is that this animal's 
speech varies in different latitudes. Mother Goose and Eras- 
mus heard the sheep and lambs cry bci ! or bah ! but Aris- 
tophanes heard them cry ve ! 

Lastly, as to proper names in Latin, the argument of our 
opponents falls to the ground from the fact of the custom in 
all languages of using a letter suited to the language ; for 
the Greeks having no sound of 6, rendered that letter by 
their veta in the proper names drawn from other tongues. 

In manuscripts of the Apostles and first fathers of the 
Church, the dotted Hebrew b as in heth is spelled with ft^r, 

thus jM.TTt'J'. 

But to me the most convincing of all proofs (next to that 
of Dionysius of Halicarnassus,) is the form of a large num- 
ber of the oldest Latin words Vv^hich must have been derived 
from the Greek at the time when Paestum and the other 
Greek colonies dotted the entire peninsula, long before Ro- 
mulus and Remus, of which epoch we see now architectu- 
ral ruins, which are more astonishing than those of Ca^saric 
splendor. 

The words to which we allude are such as volo, from 
/SovAoM^/, vado from /3osJ't(^&>, 7iavis Jrom vxii^vox from /2o>^, 



238 THE PRONUNCIATION OF 

vis from I3U, vita from (oUg^ etc. We mean not to assert 
that the Latin v was always sounded like the Greek /3, but that i I 
it sometimes had that sound. At other times it seemed to have ^ ^ 
the sound of the Greek ov ; and the shape of both u and v 
was originally v. In short, all circumstances show that 
the Latin pronunciation was unfixed and that of the Greek 
fixed, since the dialectic variations in the pronunciation of 
the Greek were expressed by the spelling, a fact foreign to 
the Latin. 

Now the Greek /3 is pro.\iounced as v by all the Greeks 
scattered throughout Europe and Asia. There is no dialec- 
tic variation from it. Why could not the Crusaders, Turks 
and other invaders of Greece whose languages abound in 
the hard b exert some influence to alter the Greek pronun- 
ciation? The answer is, "Because the Greeks would not 
lose their ancient pronunciation, which they revered as a 
holy relic of their glory." 

The Latin is a dead language ; the Greek in all its Attic 
purity is spoken by the learned men of Greece, while the 
style of the higher circles of society is gradually tending to 
the same purity. Would you substitute a harsh for a 
smooth sound in that noble tongue, on the faith of the uncer- 
tain and ever-varying Latin ? If so, you seek to violate the 
laws of nature, and nature's God. 

This matter is more serious than some persons imagine. 
The portion of students and teachers who advocate the mo- 
dern Greek pronunciation has been stigmatized by a certain 
American publisher of the classics as a " vile heresy." 
We think it is high time to do away with fanatical rage in 
this land of free opinions ; yet Anthon prepares for the cen- 
tre-table and the desk a neat Greek grammar in which he 
lays violent hands on the Grecian ore rotundo and calls the 



• THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 239 

Greeks and Philhellenes by a name which Napoleon had 
buried in the ruins of the Inquisition. 

Gamma. — This letter, when hard, is sounded as the Ger- 
mans of Saxony sound their g in tag. Dionysius of Hali- 
carnassus makes it bear the same relation to r and B- that 
b bears to tt and (p. Therefore gamma cannot have the 
hard sound of ^' as heard in English in the word get. Plu- 
tarch also describing the Latin g^ says that it is allied to 
the Greek kappa. Besides, in ancient Latin, both c and g 
were represented by one sign, Plutarch adds that at a late 
period Carvilius Sporius introduced the g. Gamma preced- 
ing the sound of t or e is sounded hke y in young ; and be- 
fore y, X, Xi ?j li^^6 ^ nasal n as in ayyfAas, in Latin, 
a?igeliis, in English, angel. These two accidental sounds 
of gamma are very beautiful and expressive. It is sounded 
like hard g only, after a nasal v or a nasal y as in fv Taxxla, 
eiig gahleea, ^yyi";, eng-ghees. 

Delta. This letter is always pronounced like th in thee. 
Dionysius of Halicarnassus institutes the same relation be- 
tween it and r and B- as between ^ and t and 0. We have 
then his mutes classed thus ; labials tt, /S, ^ ; dentals 
T, (^, 3-; laryngical «, y, ;^ ; and thus ; thin ^, r, 5 ; thick 
0, B-,Xi intermediate between them /3, J", 7. On account of 
this arrangement, whatever proof we adduce in support of 
one, has an influence to support all the other mutes as pro- 
nounced by the modern Greeks. There is reason to believe 
that the Egyptian A was pronounced like <^, and not like d ; 
for the name Darius in Egyptian cartouches is spelled by 
letters which correspond to Ntroosh. Now the Greeks, in 
representing the hard d of other tongues at the present day, 
employ the same speUing, vr. In manuscripts of the apostles 
and fathers of the church, the Hebrew daleth with the 



240 THE PRONUNCIATION OF 



dagesh is represented by vr. Now Greece was colonized 
by Egyptians; and as late as Aristophanes, we find Egyp 
tians employed as porters in that country, forming a dis- 
tinct class as the Turkish Hamals do now in Constantinople, 
Smyrna and other places. The Greeks regarded Egypt as 
their motherland; and why with such concomitant circum- 
stances, may we not suppose the letters of their respective 
languages to be somewhat similar in their powers ? The 
Greek letters were called Phoenician ; but were not the 
Phoenician evidently as well as the Hebrew originally 
from the hieroglyphics ? None of the ancients assert the 
contrary ; and we have the very object declared by the 
name of the letter, as signified by the hieroglyphic, from 
which it was copied. 

Moreover the Hebrew names, which are generally sup- 
posed to be identical in sound with the Phoenician, are spelled 
for the most part differently from the names of the things 
which they signify in Hebrew. This circumstance favours 
the idea, that even the Hebrew names were corrupted from 
the Egyptian. The Phoenicians used the letters only as let- 
ters, and not as the Egyptians did, sometimes as letters and 
sometimes as emblems. The Phoenicians used generally 
one character for the same sound while the Egyptians used 
various. In short, Cadmus brought letters from Phoenicia ; 
that is, the letters which the Phoenicians had taken evidently 
from the hieroglyphics. But it must be remembered that 
Herodotus says that the powers of the Greek letters were 
altered from those of the Phoenician. Here then the prevail- 
ing hard sound of the Phoenician or Hebrew Beth, Gimel 
and Daleth was no doubt altered and fixed to the accidental 
/=, y, ^ as heard in the approved Hebrew pronunciation 
when written without the dagesh ; for in the names of the 



m 

zedM 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 241 

letters of the alphabet those letters bear the dagesh in He- 
brew. Thus the letters would appear indeed altered from 
the Phoenician, which were pronounced usually hard, while 
the Greeks always bore the smooth sound. 

Epsilon. — This letter was named ef, before the introduc- 
tion of Eta, in the Athenian alphabet, the year 403 B. C. 
It was also employed sometimes for the rough breathing. 
It is sounded like e in onet or like the French e. 

Zeta. — This letter Dionysius of Halicarnassus declares 
to be compounded of c-J^. But it is proved that sigma had 
this sound before a smooth consonant. For Hf^vpvij was 
often spelled Z,u,vpv7}. Now it is impossible to give the hiss- 
ing sound of <r, then the smooth ^ and then /^ at the begin- 
ning of a word. Both must either be smooth, or both harsh ; 
besides this, the ancients regarded c- a disagreeable and J 
that is (T^ an agreeable sound. To support then consistency, 
we must most naturally conclude that the smooth <r was 
sounded like the English z, and so it is by the modern 
Greeks, who always sound it so before /3, 7, J", ^-,, v, p. Now 
if this is true then the Greek ^ was sounded like the Eng- 
lish z in 'such words as Z^vp??. But Dionysius adds that 
the G- and iJ" in (^ are blended together so as to form a pecu- 
liar sound. This peculiar sound must have been the Eng- 
lish z, for thus the Zeta is pronounced by the modern 
Greeks. To pronounce Z/xvpv}} exactly as if written Z^/^vpvt} 
is a species of harshness ill comporting with that quality of 
sweetness which the ancient fancied in ^. It is evident that 
Dionysius gave what he supposed to be the elements of the 
sound. But what confirms us still more in this, is that when 
c-^ was substituted for ^, it was considered as a Doricism. 
Still more ; in compound words as -Trpocr^ia where the sepa- 
ration of the elements of ^ occurred, the J was not substi- 



242 THE PROTfUNCIATION OF 

tuted, but in A-^^vei^e from AS-^va's ^e the c- and ^ were evi 
dently blended for euphony to form the peculiar sound z. 
Our adversaries entirely revolt from historical testimony, 
and place no faith even in the great Dionysius, vi'hom they 
declare to have by mistake placed (r^ instead of ^V which 
they in their Dutch conceit regard as the Latin, and conse- 
quently the Greek sound, but the Byzantine writers on the 
contrary represent the Latin z as equivalent to the Greek 
T(^, and this is its Italian sound, although the Italians pro- 
nounce the Latin z like the modern Greek J. 

Eta. This letter is prounced like the English e long. 
Previous to the year 403, b. c, ei was used in its place. 
Our adversaries state that as ei was regarded the long sound 
of e, therefore Eta should be prounced ayta. So in Eng- 
lish, the Greeks might retort that the long e, or the ei in 
conceit, of the time of Shakspeare, should be sounded like 
ay, because the short e is like the Greek cpsilon. Then 
Tneat and conceit would be sounded, tnate and console^ and 
the Irish brogue, would be then the purest English ! There 
is no end to the ridicule consequent On the assumptions 
made by our opponents. They would probably reply that 
this assertion strengthens their side, because the Milesian 
Greeks colonised fair Innisfail, landing at Galway ! But, 
enough of such absurdity ! Yet what is this compared 
with another proof which they adduce? They say that 
Aristophanes exhibits the voice of a sheep in the word /Jjj! 
To this it would seem sufficient to answer bah ! But must 
we go to brutes for instruction, when men liave thrown all 
the necessary light upon this topic? The voice of the 
sheep varies in different latitudes, and in different tongues, 
it is differently expressed. The Greek word ^Kr^a, also 
describes the cryj.of a sheep.JgJNow, if Eta in this word, 
should, as some allege, be sounded like a in fat, then, with 



I 



THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 243 

equal propriety in reading the great English poets of past 
days, we should pronounce the word bleat, so as to imitate 
that animal's twang to the full extent. We should say 
of course, blatt under such circumstances I Indeed some 
of the up-country Yankees say blatt I Then indeed 
the Yankee's amusing patois would be the dialect of 
the Bard of Avon. AVhai an addition, combined with 
graceful sounds from the Emerald Isle ! Then under all 
circumstances, the words having long e in them, would be 
blatted out by the mutton-heads who imagine that the Greeks 
have lost their pronunciation and that the sheep have re- 
stored the same to an admiring world ! 

Now we do not deny that Eta had in some words, a shade 
of difference from Iota. That difference was like that in 
Russian, between I and bl, which are pronounced, the one 
like ee, and the other likei prolonged. The corresponding 
Greek forms are 1 and H. The Eta was sounded therefore 
sometimes like Itta, except in giving the peculiar short t, 
it should be prolonged as in Russian. Dionysius of Hali- 
carnassus says, that " Near the basis of the tongue, it 
supports the issuing sound, but not upward, yet with the 
mouth moderately opened. In English this sound is always 
short, but the same sound in Russian, Turkish and Chinese 
is given with a greater lowering of the tongue, and it seems 
to be an attempt to sound ee as deep in the throat as possi- 
ble. This sound is foreign to all European tongues. Aris- 
tides describing t declares that it requires a position of the 
mouth as in gaping; and indeed this description suits 
the French e ; but in regard to ^, he speaks differently, 
" for in ;; the sound is diffused and strained through." 

Now f, as Aristides says, causes one " to gape," but vi on 
the contrary according to Dionysius, requires the mouth 
only "moderately opened," so that the sound is not borne up- 



244 THE PRONUNCIATION OP 

ward as for alpha but is muffled by being, more confined 
than for e. Had our adversaries studied well the authors 
who describe u and e, they would not have called them the 
same in the manner of their formation. What more light 
can be reasonably desired to prove that j? and s were en- 
tirely different 1 

It is well to observe that in the Turkish books printed in 
the Greek character at Athens for the Greeks of the interior 
of Asia Minor, the character n is given to the sound which 
we have described as being the old Greek sound of that 
letter. This sound easily glides into the iota, and is often 
exchanged for the latter ; and that tlie same circumstance 
occurred in the ancient Greek, we have ample testimony. 

In the first place we cite a parechesis (resemblance in 
sound) of Justin, the philosopher and martyr. " As to this 
name (Christian, xV'^'^^'^^"^) which is imputed to us as a 
crime, we arc the most excellent (;k;^^(rror««ro/)." Now 
without a perfect identity in his pronunciation of i and »?, the 
force of the words is lost. 

In giving the vocative and accusative of Iris which were 
the same as those of Hera (Juno) in sound, the poet always 
adds an epithet to distinguish the former. For after saying 

''Or< KoiX&crocro "Hpi) 'A7rdPiA<s;v« Ipiv rt, he adds yj B-eoicriv 

Eustathius introducesinstancesof parechesis where t and 
»j are confounded. 

Had we space we would add more proofs from a work to 
which we are much indebted, entitled "Treatise on the pro- 
nunciation of the Greek Elements by Anastasius Gcorgiades, 
of Philippopolis, in Greek and Latin ; Paris, 1812." 

Theta, S-, is sounded like th in thick. 

Iota, <, is sounded like ee. 

Kappa, k, is sounded like k except after the nasal v or y, 



THE GKEEK LANGUAGE. 245 

where it is sounded like g hard as dyy-av pronounced 
ahngon. 

Lambda, a, is sounded like /. 

Mu, ju, is sounded like ni. 

Nu, y, is sounded like ;^, except before ^, as in h ToXif^^ 
pronounced eni ho-Uin-o ; hf^Tfeipuct, embeereeah; h >s«<f9, 
eng ghayro. 

Xi, I, is sounded like ks. 

Omicron, 0, is sounded like o in note. Before the archon- 
ship of Euclides 403, B. C, the name of omicron was ol. 

Pi, 5^, is sounded like p except after )«- and v as shown 
above. 

Rho, p, is a trilled r, never mute as in English. 

SiG3iA, C-, 5, is a harsh 5 except before a liquid consonant, 
where it becomes like z. 

Tau, t, is t, except after v, where it is d, 

Ypsilon, y, is pronounced like ee when not in a diphthong, 
(concerning which see, under diphthongs.) Dionysius of 
Halicarnassus describes it in such a way that any one would 
understand that he sounded it exactly like the French w, the 
German ue and the Swedish y. This letter in Russian is 
pronounced according to the modern Greek. To distin- 
guish words especially rif^el(; from vf^el^,, the modern Greeks 
sometimes give to it the sound of the French u. But as the 
German ue is almost universally corrupted to ee, so the 
ancient Greek ypsilon was also sounded by the mass of 
grammarians, as can be testified by numerous quotations, 
(g Aristophanes made a whole Iambic of this letler to repre- 
sent the act of smelling pork. Some of our adversaries, 
having had experience in snuffing up the odor of swine's 
meat, declare that the true way to sound ypsilon is to shut' 
the mouth and draw the breath inward through the nose. 
What a porkish proof? 



246 DIPHTHONGS. 

Phi, (p ; this letter is sounded like an/, or rather as a 
cognate of the beta, made with both lips and not with the 
under lip and upper teeth. It was doubtless this difference 
between the Greek <p and the Latin /, which caused Cicero 
by a stroke of wit, to try to nonsuit a Greek, who prose- 
cuted a certain Roman named Fundanius. The orator 
intimated that the accuser had nothing to do with Funda- 
nius but with Phundanius ! However the pronuncia- 
tion of this letter depends much on the position of the lower 
jaw, which, if set a little back of the upper, facilitates f, but 
if even with the upper, facilitates (p. 

Psi, %//; this letter is sounded ps, as in claps. 

Omega, «; this letter is sounded like omicron, and was 
not introduced into the alphabet till the year 403, B. C. 
We see on some ancient inscriptions that « was used instead 
of ». 

DIPHTHONGS. 

After beta and eta, the diphthongs have been the greatest 
subjects of alphabetic controversy. First, let us see the 
genius of the Greek alphabet. It is of course Oriental ; and 
we find in the Hebrew and Arabic orthography, continual 
instances of a simple sound being represented by two 
characters. Let us not then be at all surprised that such 
should be the case in Greek. 

Now in regard to the Greek diphthong ai which is the 
e prolonged like the English ai in maiden, we find in the 
Oriental languages the same mode of representing this 
sound. It is wonderfully to the point to notice that in San- 
scrit (a tongue fancied by some to be the mother of the 
Greek), this sound, represented by a sign shaped much like 
c, is substituted when two words are written together thus, 



DIPHTHONGS. 247 

hala irha, written consecutively, are spelled and pronounced 
balerba. The Pundits even call this simple sound a diph- 
thong because they suppose it to be composed of a and i 
melted together ! Here now is a study for the American 
Erasmians who doat so much on the literary remains of 
India ! There are consecutive vowels enough in Greek 
without expanding the simple sounds to produce a drawling 
monotony which the Erasmians mistake for the ore rotundo. 

From the extreme south to the extreme north of the vast 
continent of Asia, we find the custom of representing simple 
sounds by diphthongs. Nor is the custom wanting in the 
English language. The words maiden, they, day and others 
ought to be pronounced miden, thy, die, if the Erasmian 
mode of reasoning has a particle of truth in it. 

Sophocles, a Greek, author of a Greek grammar for the 
Americans, gives what he terms, in his last edition, 
the probable pronunciation of the ancient Greeks. He seems 
to endeavour to keep half way between the Erasmians and 
Greeks. Now some of those passages which he refers to 
without quoting them, do not contain any proof whatever 
in regard to sound, but mostly in regard to the spelling and 
the mere classification of the letters. Cannot our country- 
man tell us the reasons for placing such a pronunciation 
before the public? We admire his learning, but would ask 
of him as well as of Anthon, the why and the wherefore. 
Let us quote something to the point from Callimachus. 

Airccvli), trh ^6 vcti'^i xctxbi;, ;t«A6$, aAAa Trpiv elTeli 

Here we see that the sound of the vowels in vtzi^t must 
be the same as that of those in tx,ef. How could the poet 



248 DIPHTHONGS. 

play with those words if the sounds were different ? 
Theon, the Sophist, exhibits the following pun, 

AiL)>kJ?r^(!$ aTTej Trscrovcrot S'tif^oFicc. 

A-uAjjT^lS TTCclq eyirct, tTTOf J^JJjtfcOC-ta. 

Here 7rs(rov<rcc and TraU 6v(roCj it appears were sounded 
alike ; and that these are the words intended for the pun is 
shown by the position of t<rra first before and then after the 
same. 

Arios, in the Church council, declared that in the Apostle 
Paul's writings, in hearing the word Kevo<p<uvLx;, he under- 
stood KUiyoipaviU(;. 

Anonymus says the following sounds correspond ; o to 
cOf e to octf t to t] and et, and v to «/. 

Michael Glycas speaks of an ignorant Patriarch reading 
MccrB-aiov for MccrS-etlov, A bystander exclaimed, " Don't 
divide the diphthong." At which the Patriarch angrily 
retorted, " Thou speakest foolishly ; for diphthongs and 
tripthongs my soul hateth !" 

The following pun is from Palladas. 

OvK, iB-£Xa> Ao^/ve, oi yap t^a ^of^svxt, 
(I will not, sir, for I have none to give.) 

It is remarkable that in the Latin tongue this Greek ai is 
spelled ae and sometimes e. In Italian and French only 
the e is retained. Now if the Romans represented two 
sounds by those two letters why did they not choose the 
right letters 1 They should in such a case have written ai 
and not ae. But the custom of blending the forms in one, 
thus ae, is calculated to give the idea that simple e alone is 
sounded. 

Aulus Gellius says that the ancient Latins wrote fscnus 
for fenus as if derived from (palno-^ut. It is therefore evi- 



DIPHTHONGS. 249 

dent that ae and e had the same sound ; but Terence says 
that the Greek a/ and Latin ae are sounded alike ; 

*' kx^cc semper et IZ^rcc quern parant Greecis sonum 
A et e nobis imitant ; sic enim nos scribimus." 

(The sound ai which the Greeks have, our a and e always 
imitate ; for thus we write.) Therefore, the Greek a.i was 
pronounced hke long s. 

Our adversaries appeal to the meaning of the word diph- 
thong ; but we reply that the ancient Greeks no doubt re- 
garded the sound which the English call long a in fate as 
a diphthong ; for that very sound is now considered so by 
some learned pundits and scholiasts both in England and 
India. Analyze it. Can you not make it up from e in met 
and i \x\ fitl If you can, then you still have a diphthong. 

The diphthong ety is sounded af when at the end of a 
phrase or before a rough consonant, and au in other posi- 
tions. Plutarch intimates that Calabria is written Kcx-Mv^ia, 
but by the correct writers only liccXocQpiot., Here then we 
have the Latin b the same as beta and ypsilon, which latter 
in this position, Athanasius says "seems to be the ^olic 
digamma, sounded like v. 

Cicero relates an amusing pun to the point. " Marcus 
Crassus leading the army against Arundusium, met a man 
selling figs from Cavnus, and crying ' Cavneas,' " (the 
Cavean, that is, figs from Cavnus). I would say that 
Crassus was dissuaded by that (evil omen) from advancing 
(since " cave ne eas" means " beware, not to go.") Thus 
if in Cavneas and Cave ne eas the v were not a consonant, 
the pun would have excited disgust, and the fears of the 
general would have disgraced him. Now the Greeks spelt 
the av in Cavnus, with their diphthong, tiv. 

17 



250 DIPHTHONGS. 



< 



It is remarkable that in Sanscrit an u at the beginning o 
a word is changed to Vj by the precedence of a or o in an 
other word; and the spelling of the two words is altered to 
suit this euphonic law. Thus we see that the Greek 
euphony must be based on some very ancient and very ■ 
widely diffused principles of pronunciation. 

In French a dog's bark is represented by the syllable 
hap ! This is evidently derived from the Greek ul as em- 
ployed by Aristophanes, and pronounced aff Now English 
mastifs say bow wow ! and the Erasmians say au, au ! Con- 
sequently our adversaries assert that cci should be pro- 
nounced ow ! But the French hap ! hap ! should also be 
perverted to ow! ow! and the Frenchman should be told that 
he does not know how to sound his own language. 

Without diving deeper into the philosophy of a dog's 
bark, we will conclude that the Erasmians in this country 
have barked up the wrong tree, if on such brutal authority 
they stigmatize the Greeks and Philhellenes with the in- 
quisitorial epithet of " vile heretics !" 

As to ei, which is sounded like eta, we will give a good 
pun from Aristotle, who represents Theodore saying to 
Nico the Thracian lute-player ^pdrrit c-s (it disturbs thee), 
intending " Gpam) c-e" (Thrace is thy country). The na- 
tive Greeks understood the double meaning, while the 
Thracian was unwittingly the object of their laughter, as 
an Irish lutist would be of an inhabitant of the Athens of 
America. Can our antagonists place limits to the time 
when £1 and t} were not sounded alike? 

There is ap old proverb containing a parechesis or pun ; 
" Zel xvrpce., ^y ^/At'st." (The pot boils, friendship lives I) 
Among the puzzles proposed by school boys is the follow- 
ing. *'Et wa V}}ir^v (piXdi, votoi f*,a?y^ov ra ;i^jjvwy !" the solu- 



DIPHTHONGS. 251 

tion of which is 'l-iyavvjjs 6v (piMlg '^o^(^ i^d>^hov ret^tvov. (If 
you love duck's eggs, how much more should you goose- 
eggs ; or John whom you love by how much the more 
swift.) 

Diogenes the Cynic being in a bath saw a thief carrying 
off a cloak and said "£;r' aXeifJLf^dncv, rj e^' aA\' Iji^driov, 
meaning by the same sound "Are you going to get oiled, 
or, after another cloak 7" 

There are thousands of words in which iota and tt are 
interchanged in spelling. This is proof enough that both 
were pronounced alike. 

The diphthong ev is pronounced efat the end of a clause 
or before a rough consonant, and in other positions like ev. 
In proof of which are the double spellings, "E/S^o? Ei'^'aj, 

^s/StJ^oc '2,svr^po(;, &C. 

The dipthong oi is sounded like iota by the modern 
Greeks. In support of which is the oracle related by Thu- 
cydides, ''H|s< S'a fuct-^o^ Tto^^l^^i x«t .Xotf^bi oi/^' ctvro," in 
which from the sound it was doubted if Kotfjcb^ (plague) or 
>yif^o(i (famine) was prophesied. 

As Anonymus declared that oi bore a relation toypsilon, 
which seems to have been the French u, there is reason to 
suppose that oi was pronounced like the French eu^ a sound 
which often passes into i in some mouths and into e in 
others. The German oe is thought to be the correspondent 
5^of the Greek oi ; it is sounded like the French eu by the 
learned and like e by the people. In the potential mode of 
the Sanscrit verb, answering to the Greek optative in form, 
e takes the place of o/. 

Neither the French u nor the French eu sound so well as 
iota, and it is certainly preferable to have sounds which are 
consecrated by time and by the usage of the people of 



252 DIPHTHONGS. 

Greece. Whatever over nice distinctions were made by 
grammarians we have shown, that the people did not use 
them. I would advise that they be used only to distinguish 
ambiguous words. Among the old dramatic puns we find, 
TaXr^fiiv ofw which sounded like recXrjv vvv «^w ; and Tl creln 
oxvtvv which sounded like, ri^ o-h si 6 tcvav. The diphthong 
ov is pronounced as the French ou and English oo. 

The diphthongs jjy, av are pronounced if and of at the 
end of a clause or before a rough consonant, but in other 
positions iv and 6v ; vt is pronounced like iota. Iota sub- 
script is mute. The breathings are not sounded. The 
accents mark the syllable that receives the stress of the 
voice. 

We have endeavored for the progress of philology, faith- 
fully to discharge our duty in proving the high antiquity of the 
modern Greek pronunciation. As to some letters, particularly 
/3, y, (^, which are among the most contested by our oppo- 
nents, we have drawn our reasons from the epoch when 
Darius invaded Egypt, and we have brought the new dis- 
coveries in hieroglyphic spelling to bear on the questions 
which we have answered. We have shown that where 
grammarians made a very slight difference from the peo- 
ple in the pronunciation, the people, nevertheless, from the 
time of Homer down to the present day, have preserved 
their pronunciation inviolable. We have appealed to San- 
scrit usage in euphony, and have endeavored to show a* 
kindred harmony on the banks of the Ganges resembling 
somewhat that on the banks of the llissus. If there is any 
thing which we have^overlooked, we hope we shall hear of 
it as soon as possible. We entertain no ill feelings against 
the Erasmians, and we hope that the epithet "vile heresy," 
used by Anthon, will yet be expunged from his work, which 



DirHTHONGS. 253 

appears much disfigured thereby. We wish to ply no sar- 
casms, nor return epithet for epithet, after the manner of 
those literary speculators who endeavor to raise an excite- 
ment, fill their pockets, and then abandon entirely the sub- 
ject of investigation, thus rendered odious to the community. 
If attacks against the opinions of the Greeks are made, let 
them be made in a gentlemanly manner. We are prepar- 
ed to continue the discussion soberly and candidly, for the 
sake of promoting the cause of Greek learning. 

But why should we dilate upon the pronunciation, and 
wage a useless war against suppositions ? Is not the se^ise of 
far greater importance than the sound ? Let those, who 
learn Greek, avoid disputes about minor matters, which 
have nothing to do with the object, for which the immortal 
monuments of the Grecian mind were designed. Had the 
sound been of any consequence, volumes would have been 
composed to deliver to posterity the exact pronunciation of 
the flourishing period of Athens. What then is the utility 
secured by the student of this language 1 We reply ; this 
utility is manifold like the character and duties of the world, 
to which it has been handed down. The theologian is in- 
debted to the Greek for a portion of the Sacred Scriptures, 
and for most of the writings of the apostles and fathers of 
the Church. The statesman finds in Greek an exhibition 
of the greatest variety of government that the world has 
ever known, experiments undertaken by kings and nations, 
the history of their duration and fall, the domestic and pub- 
lic character of the men who planned them, in short such 
a pageantry of innovations, political convulsions and explo- 
sions that the present age with all its boast of invention and 
discovery is comparatively barren and tame. Who can 
read without emotion Plato, Xenophon, and the other phi- 



254 DIPHTHONGS. 

losophical statesmen who analyzed both tyranny and demo- 
cracy, and who reveal the springs of many political pheno- 
mena which America seems to have been reserved to exem- 
plify. The benefits and evils in their full magnitude appear 
no less astonishing now than at that period, when they were 
first announced, because they are almost unafiected by dif- 
ference of time, climate and races. 

The remains of Grecian oratory are so grand and beau- 
tiful as to compensate in part for the loss of architectural 
creations. One oration of Demosthenes does the nation 
more honor than if, in its stead, the gigantic temple of 
Olympian Jove with its three hundred columns were still 
standing to attract wondering pilgrims from the extremities 
of the civilized world. Such labour was spent in the com- 
position of the master-pieces of Athenian eloquence that 
their proportions are always needed to be beheld by the 
modern speaker, that he may not too hastily regard his own 
performance as perfected till it can bear comparison with 
the Demosthenic model. The Greek orations should be 
studied in their original structure, for a translation necessa- 
rily impairs the meaning, either from the inferiority of other 
languages, or from the ignorance which the reader would 
have of any peculiarity in the Greek idiom, which often has 
as much effect on the sense as a different word. 

The poet, without a knowledge of the Greek language, is 
like a ship without a pilot. To him equally with the stales- 
man and the theologian, belongs the advice so often given 
by teachers to students of the classics, " Nocturna versate 
manu, versate diurna." (Peruse them by night, peruse 
them by day.) The epic, the dramatic, the erotic and 
the bucolic styles have their spring in Grecian diction ; and 
the names of Homer, Sophocles, Anacreon and Theocritus 



DIPHTHONGS. 255 

are significant of perfection in their various departments. 
Their writings present a beautiful temple of thought, whose 
proportions are scarcely marred by the lapse of ages. What 
models must those works be, which, notwithstanding their 
unrestrained liberty of expression, have been handed down 
with no less reverence by the enemies than by the friends 
of the Greek nation! Truly America is the most appro- 
priate place for the study of that magnificent language, be- 
cause here there is the most practice of the ideas which it 
enshrines. Italy, in the midst of her republican sway, her 
artistic splendor and her literary renown, was torn in pieces 
by the virulence of faction, but America is united in the 
cause of exemplifying •all that is excellent in the ancient 
world. 

We might add other professions of life for which a know- 
ledge of the Greek is necessary, but another reason of great 
weight remains to be mentioned. It is the wide diffusion of 
Greek words through the languages of the world. There 
is not a cultivated speech on earth without a large number 
of terms and idioms derived apparently from that language ; 
and even in the wild Indian dialects of the new world are 
found hundreds of names almost identical with the Greek. 
Add to this the vast nomenclature of science and art drawn 
from the Greek, and used in every country. 

The blending of the Grecian tongue with all the early 
history of mankind, its use as the key of the Egyptian 
hieroglyphics, its philosophical mode of forming compound 
words, and its varied and imitative euphony, recommend it 
to the attention of every individual who seeks that gratifica- 
tion which the knowledge of the original language alone 
can bestow. 

Next, the full understanding of the innumerable Greek 



256 DIPHTHONGS. 

words found in other tongues, requires an acquaintance with 
the Greek ; and that acquaintance is facilitated by these 
very words. In fine, the task of learning in an arbitrary 
and isolated manner those names is far greater than that of 
acquiring the whole language itself; because the language 
from its peculiar structure contains within itself the mnemo- 
technic principles which fix all its words in the memory of 
the learner. 

Lastly, the rising of the Greek nation from servitude to 
liberty with the same words which were uttered by Leon- 
idas and Themistocles, and the same glorious features both 
physically and intellectually, has a powerful influence in re- 
commending the study of their language. To the student 
who acquires Greek in the modern pronunciation, the mo- 
dern dialect seems like a Hellenic dialect proceeding from a 
blending of the MoWo, and Doric. He finds all the primary 
forms of words spelled exactly as in the ancient, and when 
he hears the language uttered, a brilliant dream of the past 
immediately rushes before him and fascinates him onward 
as if happiness itself arose partly from the same source. 
Like a recovered strain of Orpheus, the modern tone melts 
his heart and causes his mind to pursue earnestly the lore 
of that all-pervading, all-revivifying tongue. 

There was a time when Greece on the map was merged 
in the unclassic title of Turkey, and when the heads of 
Greek rebels in the Seraglio gate either petrified the devo- 
tees of art and science or drove them to the profession of 
arms. Now, however, destiny's fiery finger has traced 
upon the heavens in Greek characters of starry splendor the 
"mene tekel upharsin" of Ottoman supremacy. Henceforth 
the sword and musket will no longer be needed while di- 
plomacy and learning cause even the power of the Sultan 
to patronize education and to send envoys to democratic 



DIPHTHONGS. 257 

countries to see their improvements ! Greece is free, and 
the Greek population of Turkey have forced the Ottoman 
government to milder measures. 

As soon as Turkey is restored to its right owners, then 
all impediments to the progress of art will have been 
removed. 

THE TURKISH ENVOY TO AMERICA. 

Before closing these random sketches, it would naturally 
be expected that the exile of Scio should notice the arrival 
hereof a Turkish envoy. I am glad to see the impartiality 
that the Americans exhibit towards all mankind, including 
those individuals who seek shelter under the wings of their 
mighty eagle together with those who visit their institutions 
in search of knowledge. 

The American Congress appropriated ten thousand dol- 
lars as a peshkcsh (present) to aid the Turkish Envoy to 
ti'avel through the Union in search of information. May 
this peshkesh bring forth a hundred fold ! 

More than two thousand years ago the proud Quirites 
sent envoys to democratic Greece to bring to Rome the 
twelve tables of her code. The Greeks considered the mes- 
sage of so sacred a character that they dispatched in return 
envoys to the Roman people to ascertain whether they were 
worthy of such a gift. But the Turkish envoy to this re- 
public comes with a different purpose. Instead of examming 
the political system, he travels, as he remarked, to witness 
the mechanical improvements of the Americans and to en- 
rol the names of all who wish to offer themselves to the 
Sultan i 

Have the Mentors of this Bey explained to him the source 
and mainspring of these improvements ? Whence comes 
13 



258 THE TURKISH ENVOY TO AMERICA. 

the superiority of American mechanics but from the exce 
lent nature of the American democracy, which calls forth 
skill and remunerates industry] 

These are reflections which the Sultan would do well lo 
digest ; but the munificence of the Americans will have more 
effect in convincing his Greek subjects of the prosperity of 
a republic that borrowed its outlines from that of their fore- 
fathers, than in persuading the Turks to make a spasmodic 
effort to compete with other nations in mechanical improve- 
ment. 

The complimentary reception of the Bey by the Amer- 
icans, exhibits their impartial desire to see other nations im- 
prove, but we must let him know that the laws of this country 
render it the asylum of the oppressed mechanics of all other 
nations, and how can the Sultan presume to expect that 
their craft can advance in Turkey as it does in America ? 
If the heterogeneous subjects of Turkey were attracted be- 
neath the Sultan's sway by an enlightened policy, would not 
the arts flourish as they did in Rome, that mother of nations, 
that received her laws from Greece? How much better 
then it would be to commence in the right way, instead of 
endeavoring to uphold the Turkish race which constitutes a 
minority of the subjects of the Sultan! No land ever pro- 
gressed for a long time, where one race was allowed to flou- 
rish over the ruins of another. 



A NEW ALPHABET 



ENGLISH LANGUAGE 



On the following page we give to our readers a Cadmian 
invention by an Annerican ; and the subject is very appro- 
priate, we think, after speaking so much of the Greek 
letters. 

The alphabet of Comstock contains several Greek letters, 
one of which, still found on the pyramids, we have proved 
to have been sounde4 three thousand years ago, on the 
banks of the Nile as it now is, on the banks of the Ilissus 
and the Delaware. We mean the triangular A, delta, 
(pronounced like th in the,) a form immortalized by giving 
its name to the most commercial portion of that wonderful 
country. The letter 0, theta, figures in the name of the 
original inventor of letters, the great ©q-9- ( Thoth), whom 
the Greeks supposed to be no less than Mercury the god of 
reason. I was agreeably surprised to meet in Philadelphia 
such tokens of the past, such relics of my nation's glory, 
in the very type, prepared by an uncompromising hero of 
letters for this gigantic republic. I cannot cease admiring 
the idea of letters being brought to America from Greece. 
It is a beautiful fact to associate with the doings of that 
Phoenician prince whose name is a watchword to lexico- 
graphers. We have in Comstock the first instance of a 



260 A NEW ALPHABET FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

man in this department starting up from the sovereign 
people to dictate the laws of utterance not only to his own 
country, but to the world. His discovery is not a mere 
phonetic one ; but the melody of the human voice has been 
systematized by him, and the laws of gesture made intelli- 
gible according to a method, peculiarly his own. 

Comstock is descended from a noble family of Germany 
that fought against the Turks. His coat of arms repre- 
sents a sword piercing the crescent. The name was origin- 
ally spelled Komstohk. The portion of the family which 
emigrated, passed through England and Wales, and finally 
three brothers reached America. The father of the present 
author bestowed much thought upon the formation of Phone- 
tic letters and the idea in the blood of this family was at 
last realized in type. 



A PHONETIC ALPHABET OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

BY ANDREW COMSTOCK, M. D. 

In the following Table there is a character for each of the 38 ele- 
mentary sounds of the EngHsh Language. For the sake of brevity, 
there are also 6 compound letters, each to be used, in particular instances, 
to represent two elementary sounds. 



1 — 




THE 38 SIMPLE LETTERS. 




15 Vowels. 


H Subvowels. 


9 Aspirates. 


E 


e 


ale 


B b 


bow 


P p 


^it 


A 


a 


arm 


D d 


ddj 


T t 


tin 








all 


J J 


diZiire 


C c 


s/iade 


A 


a 


an 


G g 


9^7 


K k 


A.ite 


I 


X 


eve 


Z z 


zone 


S s 


sin 


L 


£ 


end 


V V 


z?ile 


F f 


^ame 


I 


i 


ele 


A 5 


then 


a 


thva. 


1 I 


I 


tn 


L 1 


Zight 


H h 


/tut 


Q 


0) 


old 


R r 


roll 


Q q 


whdX 


K 


8 


lose 


M m 


met 












on 


N n 


no 






u 


u 


tuhe 


If r) 


^ong 






u 


u 


«p 


Ww 


wo 






u 


IT 


Ml 


Y y 


yoke 









^ 


out 














Tl 


IE 6 COMPO 


UND LETTERS. 




a 


a 


Oil 


JO 4 


yob 


•C 6 


etch 


Q 


8 


air 


Q s 


tU^5 


X X 


oaJcs 



THE LORD'S PRAYER, 
IN comstock's perfect alphabet. 

Note. — The first line is the original Greek ; the second 
is the same in Comstock's Alphabet; the third is a literal 
translation in Comstock's Alphabet. The reader will per- 
ceive that Comstock's accentual marks not only represent 
accenty but also inflection and intonation. Hence one who 
is entirely unacquainted with the Greek, may read this 
classic language, when printed in Comstock's characters, 
with perfect ease, and with the proper elocutionary expres- 
sion. 

I^^ In the Greek below, o should be pronounced like 
03, but with shorter quantity. We could not obtain Com- 
stock's letter for this sound, which is the common a with a 
short stem at its base, thus, p . 



Hatfp "/^f^uv 6 iv 

Patsr xmcon' o en 

Fa bur ov us h-a [art] in 



T'ot J ovpavoi,^, 

txs Kranxs', 
he hs vnz. 



ayxasdx'tco 
ha'lcoed bx 



To 

to 
be 



ovofia 

onoma^ 

nem' 



sw» : 
ov bXx 



ElQg'tco X 
let kum be 



vasxlx'a sKv : 
kxr) dum ov bx. 



ysvt^^i^Tfoi -to ^ixrjjxd gh, wj iv ovpaj/to, xai 

ysnxOx'tco to dclxma' sv, cos en «ranw', ke 
let bx dun be wxl ov bx, az xn hevn, sw 



t7(V 

epx' 
on 



txs yxs> 

bx m-a. 



tov 

ton 
be 



apTfov 

ar'ton 
bred 



xmcon' 
ovus 



toy 
ton 



epx¥'Sxon 
dell 



56j f^fiiv arjixipov' xal 
bos xmxn' sxmeron : ke 
gxv ts us t»-dev : and 



a'fes xmxn' ta ofxlx'mata 
forgxv ts us be dets 



xmwn', cos ke xmxs' afxemen txs ofxle'tes xmcon^ 
ov us, az ol'sco wx forgxv be det'urz ov us, 



THE lord's prayer. 



ke mx xsenerj'gxs xmas' xs pxrazmon' ala' rx'se 
and not Ixd us xn-tK tEmtecun, but dxlx'vur 

^ittttf OLTto Tov Ttovr^poi)' oti aoii lotLv fi j3a5iXfv'a 

xmas' apo' in ponxn?. : o'tx sx' ss'txn x vasxlx'a 
us from bx xvl : for tv bx xz hz kirjdum, 

x(xi ^ 8vi>afj.i? xcu rj 6o|a fij -rovj atwraj. *'A^j^i'. 

ke X bx'namxs ke x box'a xs t»s econas. Arnxn*. 
and be pcpur, and hz glco'rx, for bx e^xz. AmEn>. 

THE APPROVED ENaLISH VERSION. 

(In both the old, and the new orthography.) 



Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 
Or Fa bur h^ art xn he^vn, haltoed bx bi nem,. 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is 
Ai kxiydum kum>. Ai waI bx dun on urQ, as xtiz 

in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And for- 
in hs vn. Grxv us bxs de cpr de'lx bred,. And for- 
give us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead 
giv us cpr dets, az wx forgxv q)r deturz. And Ixd 

us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For 
us not xntb' temt^'cun, but dxix'vurus from x^vi : For 

thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
bin xz bs kxij'dum, and be pqp'ur, and be glcoTX, 

forever. Amen, 
fors'vur. Amen,. 



BIRD OF PASSAGE. 



BIRD OF PASSAGE. 

HovTjoixt '0,ivov, 



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Arranged by Professor Charles Jarvis, of Philadelphia* 



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THE BIKD OF PASSAGE. 265 



THE BIRD OF PASSAGE. 

nOYAAKI HENON. 

IlouXaXI ^s'vOV |sVJT£U|X£VO 

IIouXj xa'»|X£vov ri^a yt\Zi 
UoiJ vtt xa5'>;d'w va IsvuxT'^tfcj 
Not s^Xsv-rttfw va |x>jp(;a^cp. 
Ka^e -n'ouXocxi ^oLCiToi xXaJ'axi 
BaCm xXa5ax» rtfaTaXoro'. 
MotyoJ TO pvov TO "kvjrriix.svo 
To xai^g'vov Ti ^a ^evuj. 

PKONUNCIATION. 

Poolakky xennon xenneetevmeno 
Poolee kah-eemmenno tee tha* yennoh 
Poo nah katheessoh* nah xennykteessoh 
Nah eglendeessoh nah mee hathoh* 
Kathey* poollakky, vastah klathakky 
Vastah klathakky chattallottoh 
Maggoh toh xenno toh lyppeemenno 
Toh ky — eemenno tee thah* yennoh. 



Pronounce M, where the • is placed, like th in thought ; in the 
words that have no star Uke th in liicc. 



GREEK WAR-SONG. 



THE MUSIC 



GREEK WAR-SONG. 



PIA. 
ANDANTE. 




O EN0OTSIQN EAAHN 



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Arranged by Professor Charles Jarvis, of Philadelphia. 



THE ENTHUSIASTIC SOLDIER. 267 

THE ENTHUSIASTIC SOLDIER. 

WITH A LITERAL TRANSLATION, 

'^fl X vyyipov Kit KOTTTtpav vTraid-i /jlcu 
Oh my shrill and sharp sword I 
Ka/ v6 rouifiiti <p\oyipov ■^nuKi^uou 
And thou gun my burning bird ! 

You slay the Turk 

Toy TvpsLvtoY 9-rApa^*Ti 
You shatter the tyrant. 

N* ivda-TH^ '» TTUTfii /uov 

Let my country rise. 

Na ^iiff">) TO a-TTX^i fAcv, 
Long live my sword. 

'S.Trdi^'r [JLov vay »■' akous-u vg KKvyyi^^i 
My sword when I hear thee ringing 

And the dark musket roaring 
N«* a-rplivavTsii Tovpx.av K'^p/uta 
Let bodies of Turks be prostrated 
AKXd^^ va. a-Kou^ouY ra a-KvKia 
Let the dogs yell " Allah !*' 

Aut' Siv' » /J10V91KV fXOU 

This is ray music. 
Long live my sword. 

'H Zpu. i^^AO-lV » vaXviy^ tipd^il 
The hour has come the trumpet caDs. 
'Atjro' ;(,*/»ay 9-)ttpTZv TO ett/u* 0pd^»t, 
With joy leaping my blood boils. 



268 SFECIHEir OF KODERX DIALECT. 

To jUTa/ji, To fxTTiVfA^ TO yxvyy^ y^vyy^ ykciiyy 

The roar of artillery and the clash of swords 

*Ap^i^ovv ra ^p6froKoy6vr 

Begin to resound. 

K* tyu Towf TovfKou( r^^i^et. 

And I slay Turks. 

Zhtod 'EkKa(, (puvd^oD. 

And *' Hurrah for Greece," I shout ! 

On account of several words in the above piece not having corres- 
ponding terms in English, the original cannot be appreciated without 
a knowledge of Greek. See *' Essay on the Ancient and Modern 
Greek," published at Andover by the author of the present work. 



Specimen of tJie modern dialect from Bambas* Moral 
Philosophy^ with a literal translation. 

Patriotism. 



m 



Patriotism is a zeal warm for the interest of the 
ifOLTpiSogj diro tov h'^oTov ^tjXov £|i.N)^Li;^;ovof;-£voi oi "TroXrra* 
native-land, by which zeal, being inspired, the citizens 
tfuv£j(J'(p£pou(J'iv o,TJ fiuvuvTOLi sxudrog, "OXoi svpl(fxo^sv fy^OvVjV 
contribute what they can, each. We all find (a) plea- 
9^va, ivSu/xouffcSvoj tov <ro<ov, sig tov o-rorov iysvvri'^riii.sv xat 
sure (in) remembering the country in which we were born and 
ccvSTpatp'/jftev, Tcl icTroxsifxsva jitc ra o^rora i\a.fta\kZv Tag 
brought up ; the individnals with whom we received the 
fKpdrag tfuvyj^cia^ xa) roi irp-^Ta a<V.^>jfxaTa. p^^aipoju-sv 
first familiarities and the first impressions. We rejoice (in) 
(pavra^ofii-svoi sug xa< avrei t* a%|^u;^a ifpayiiara tyjS 
imagining even the very inanimate objects of the 
•jraTpj'^o^ dg (fvy/rpocpovg Trig irai^ixrig jxaj r/Xw/aj, xat xa^wff 
native land as associates of our youthful age, and as 



THE VOICE OF THE TOMB. 269 

Xsysi slg Twv (xsraysvc'frcpcjv tfo^wv, o tpw^ ry}5 flfaTpi'^oj 
says one the modern sages, the love of country 
sivai 6 vo,aoj -fojv xXi,aa<rwv, 6Vt»j iifoypsovsi oXouj <rouj 

is the law of climes, which obliges all peo- 
XaoCj VOL Si)-)(api(!ru)VTai slg rov toVo* rrj^ ysvM'fidzC)^ tcaJV^ 

pie to Ije content with the place of their birth 
wf ToL cpvTOL, va, £)Vw ouTw xa< TaXXa £ja-v]^up^a ovra. 

as plants, thus to speak and the other inanimate existences. 

'H q>-j(fi.g Xoiir'bv ^atvsrai on ifx-rvs'si slg oXovg rov spwra 

Nature therefore seems to inspire all with that love 

Tourov TrjS ifarpldos, ug xai rr)g v-tdp^sug (xaj. 

of country, as also of our being. 



Modern Greek popular songs, paraphrased into English, 
by A. G. Alexander, Conn, 
We add a highly popular song, intended as a reproof to 
drunkards who abuse the spoils of victory and perpetrate 
sacrilege, while they stagger along through life, to gratify 
the thirsty passion. This mode of insinuating a temperance 
principle may amuse some readers. 

The Voice of the Tomb. 
We drank, around the spoils of fight, 

All Saturday and Sunday ; 
But found our wine-casks empty quite, 

Ere morning dawned on Monday. 
Our captain, wanting more, saw fit, 

for th' errand, to select me ; 
I missed the road, and seeking it, 
Found no one to direct me. 

Night came ; I wandered like a wave. 

Glaring at moonlight's gleamirg, 
I reeled, near tombs of Grecians brave, 

I staggered forth half dreaming ; 



270 A VOICE OP THE TOMB. 

I stumbled on a grave, perchance, 
For great was my confusion ; 

A thundering voice, from Pluto's haunts. 
Reproached me for intrusion. 

I answered : "Why, complaining, groan, 

What sufferings can distress you ? 
Say, does the dark sepulchral stone 

Have power to oppress you ?" 
A voice retorted from the tomb, 

" No stone creates reproaches ; 
No monument, in deathly gloom, 

Upon my rest encroaches. 

" Your reason's tomb, your fuddled head, 

Is cause of my vexation ; 
Why pass indifferent o'er my head, 

And show no veneration ? 
Was I not once as young and strong. 

Of deeds of valor dreaming ? 
But soberly I walked along. 

The moonlight o'er me streaming. 

" With sword six spans long, gun six feet, 

Think you not, friendly stranger, 
I went with bravery oft to meet 

Whatever threatened danger ? 
I killed, in one night, thirty foes ; 

Abandoned by my brothers. 
In self defence, I dealt my blows. 

And wounded forty others. 

" My sabre broke at last in twain, 

A horseman made me rue it. 
He grasped his yatagan ; in vain, 

Upon my breast he drew it. 
My left hand turned it ; but alas ! 

His pistol-ball has won me, 
And stretched me here upon the grass ! 

Weep, friend, but tread not on me." 



GREEK WAR SO^G. 271 



THE ENTHUSIASTIC GREEK SOLDIER ADDRESS- 
ING HIS WEAPONS. 

PARAPHRASED FROM THE GREEK BY A. G. ALEXANDER. 

My smooth and cutting scimitar resplendent ! 
My dark and burning gun, beloved attendant I 

Come on, the Moslems scattering ; 

The tyrant's forces shattering; 

With blood our freedom nourish : 

And you shall ever flourish ! 

Amid the lightning's flash, the thunder's roaring, 
The tempest-whistle, and the torrents pouring, 

O'er mountain passes, hovering 

I go the foes discovering, 

Whose blood our land shall nourish, 

Svvord, ever mayst thon Jlourish 1 

■ • 

When, sword, I see, o'er thee the purple gushing. 

And when, my gun, I hear thy bullet rushing, 

The Turkish dogs we're falling on, 

And Allah they are calling on, 

Such music only send me. 

Live on, sword, to defend me ! 

The hour has come, the trumpet notes are sounding, 
And wildly through my veins the blood is bounding; 

The roaring guns arejlashivg^ 

The ringing swords are da shin g ; 

The miscreant Turks are routed, 

And " long live Greece" is shouted ! 



272 THE WIDOW OF PI]SrDUS. 

A lady of Mt. Pindus, losing her husband by the pesti- 
lence, composed a dirge which displays a sort of allegor- 
ical idea of an angel of destruction, much like what the 
Jewish prophets described. This piece is called, "The 
Widow of Pindus." 

THE WIDOW OF PINDUS. 

An angel tall, of threatening^ look, 

About whose shoulders, white wings shook. 

Came hither, in celestial state, 

Yestreen before our outer gate. 

Upon our threshold, he did stand, 

And held a flaming sword in hand. 

"Inform me, lady, where's thy spouse ? 

Is he not staying in the house ?" 

Said I, "He wipes our infant's tears, 

And kisses it, to chase its fears. 

Youth, enter not, so fierce and wild. 

You'll terrify our little child !" 

The white-wioged youth would not retire, 

And took no notice of my prayer. 

I tried to force th'intruder out, 

He foiled me, as I was not stout ; • 

He burst in fury through our house. 

And on thee rushed, beloved spouse ! 

He struck thee with the sword of death. 

He smote, and look thy vital breath I 

Oh, luckless spouse, here is oar son. 

Dear Pericles, our lovely one, 

Whom he desired from me to take. 

Look on him for his mother's sake ! 



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